Angels and Demons
by CrystalHeartZyx
Summary: Sequel to The High Warlock of Brooklyn(s Sister). Shu and her family's story picks up, as she faces her worst enemy: herself. When she finds her uncle, who she thought was dead, memories revealed bring into question who is the real enemy, the demons, or the angels?
1. Chains and Changes

**This is a kind of sequel to my story _The High Warlock of Brooklyn(s Sister)_ which follows the TV series of Shadowhunters. ****We don't know what's gonna be happening in season 3 at this point, and so this continuation of my story may or may not be incorporated as the true continuation. When it does come out, I'll fix continuity errors when we cross that bridge.**

 **Until then, enjoy all that I have in store for my characters as the story begins to pick up.**

* * *

"Now, let's see if this boy wants to mingle with demons when I'm through with him."

Namir, the Demon Queen, approached the unconscious man as her hands crackled with dark purple electricity. She launched it forward, and he instantly woke up, screaming through the pain of his rude awakening as his skin was seared, already cut and bruised from previous encounters.

"Stop!"

The chained demon threw himself forward to try and tackle Namir back. She expected the attack and smacked him away, sending him into the wall with a scream as his elbow was crushed from the force and snapped in the wrong direction.

"Ah, ah, ah," She taunted. "You shouldn't dare attack your queen. Besides, you've made him one of my subjects. I can do whatever I wish with him."

Her hands lit up once more.

"Don't! Please…I'll do what you want, just don't hurt him!"

She smiled and let her hands flicker out. "That's a good boy. We're going to play a game with little Shu. You'll get to go and meet her, though you shall take orders from me. Do as I say, and this one will be treated like a welcome guest. You'll even get to come and meet him during certain hours. Step out of line, and we'll get to see if this angel can survive the ordeals I was subject to for centuries on end."

"No, Kan," The angel muttered. "You can't…"

"I can. But you have to promise me with a binding oath, no tricks, no traps, no loopholes or technicalities. If I do what you order, you won't hurt him in any way and I'll be allowed to see him freely within reasonable amounts of time."

"And if you don't, I'll make sure he suffers unbearable pain for the rest of eternity, while you will be able to do nothing but watch. I accept these terms to an ancient demon blood oath, unbreakable by even me."

She bit her thumb and let blood flow out, and he did the same, the two of them clasping their hands together and letting the blood mix. A circle of red light glowed and spun around the two of them, before it closed in and morphed into a series of blood-red runes circling the wrists of each of their clasped hands - his left, her right.

"The deal is made. Let us get to work, my dear Kandai."

* * *

Shu dreamt she was flying. When she opened her eyes, she realized that floating feeling wasn't just her dream anymore. She was literally hovering five feet off her bed and nearly hitting the ceiling of her room.

She let out a squeak as she suddenly plummeted back down to the mattress. She landed on her stomach, raising her head from the mound of sheets and blowing a strand of hair from her face, though it all fell back into her eyes a moment later. Maybe it was just the sun, but it looked brighter than usual.

"Hey."

She swept her hair out of her face with her hand and threw it out of the way to see Charon sitting at the other and of the bed. He'd been allowed to stay over at their place while he recovered from his wound from the Soul Sword. Though she'd kicked him out while she was going psycho from her demon side going crazy, now she was doing better after Raziel's appearance and possession of her and he was invited back in while he recovered his powers.

And it wouldn't really make sense for him to have his own room, since not only was he a demon who Magnus didn't trust on his own around their apartment at night, no matter how much of a friend he was to Shu, but he needed to be looked after because of the Soul Sword wound being serious against a Greater Demon. Shu was the only one who had the power to heal a wound made by an angelic weapon against a demon.

"Have a nice night?" He asked.

"Sure, minus the whole waking up on the ceiling thing."

"Never seen that happen to you."

"I don't think it's ever happened before either."

She stood and moved to the closet to change. While she looked to the mirror to brush her hair, she realized it _was_ brighter than usual, and there were no windows in the closet to be affecting it. Laced throughout her black locks were silver strands, only able to be seen from certain angles.

She peaked her head out. "Charon, are you seeing this too?"

"What?"

She walked over to him and held out a few strands. "My hair. I swear, it's…I don't know. It's turning grey."

He stood and walked over to run his hand through her hair and hold it up. "Huh, you're right. It feels really angelic. Maybe your bonding with Raziel left some side effects."

"Do you think it'll go back to normal?"

"You can always glamour it, but evidence says it should. Razz is one of the most powerful angels out there, but that means his effects are special, and they probably won't last forever. You should probably keep an eye on your…uh, eyes too."

"What's wrong with my eyes?"

She hurried into the bathroom where the lighting was better, flicking on the mirror light of the magnifying mirror meant to be used for make up and saw that her normally dark brown eyes were now chocolate brown. It could've just been her paranoia, but they were definitely different. She'd had thousands of years to look at her own reflection, through water and ice, to mirrors and pictures, and they were changing.

"You sure this is reversible?"

"Glamourable for now, but it should go back to normal eventually."

She sighed. "Why glamour it? I might as well accept the change while I have it, see how far it goes. If it doesn't ever get better, then I'll resort to a glamour."

"Well, it's not like it changes you too much. You're still beautiful."

"Thanks, but there will be endless aging jokes thrown my way. You can count on it."

* * *

Shu was making breakfast by hand for the boys. Magicking up food only got so interesting, and it gave her things to do when there were no clients to deal with. Besides, if she got tired of doing all the domestic stuff she could resort to magic whenever she wanted. And it was good preparation in case their magic was for some reason disabled - which had happened before.

"Hey, what's cooking?" Alec asked, him and Magnus walking out from the Warlock's room.

"Bacon and eggs," She explained.

"Whoa, did someone get highlights, or is your age finally beginning to catch up with you?" Magnus quipped.

"Well, that didn't take long," Charon muttered.

"Shut up, Magnus," Shu snapped, pointing her tongs at him. "This could happen to you at any moment if it's happening to me. Besides, you're still 20 times older than your boyfriend, so don't start judging."

"Says the one who's 20 times older than _me_."

"Well I'm just about 20 _years_ older than you, so that still makes me the oldest person in this room," Charon interjected.

"Twenty, seriously?"

"Nah, I was just going on theme. But I'm still older than you."

"I think we've established that."

"What's up with the new look, though?" Alec jumped in.

"A side effect of Raziel's summoning," She said, holding up some strands. "He's one of the more powerful angels, and so, after keeping my distance from angle blood for so long, my body isn't used to it, especially in such a potent form. Razz and I have had our disagreements in the past, however, as long as I stay out of trouble and don't go on a…well _another_ vendetta against the angels, we can get along. The side effects of his angelic possession should wear off eventually. I have no doubt that it'd be pure white if not for being soul bonded to such a powerful Downworlder as well as babysat by a Greater Demon."

"Babysat?" Charon demanded.

"Yeah, babysat?" Magnus asked more skeptically.

"Watch it," She threatened. "I have kitchen utensils and I'm not afraid to use 'em."

"Trust me, I know you could make a weapon out of anything."

She flipped the bacon in the pan and cracked the eggs into the second, putting a lid over it.

"Besides, Charon's just staying until he's fully healed. I'm the only one with the skill necessary to help him heal from a Soul Sword wound."

Charon shifted in his seat. "Actually…I was gonna request to stay a little longer than that. You're father's palace isn't exactly as nice as this place. I mean, it _is_ a palace, but the man's already angry enough at me for embarrassing him in front of Azazel."

"How did that happen?"

"I exploded after what he did to nearly break the soul bond between you and Magnus by switching him with Morgenstern."

"I take it that didn't go too well."

"He restrained me, but the thing about demons is we know our place. I won't be expected to step out of line again. I just told him that I'm looking after his children to make sure you two don't do anything too stupid, and so I'm allowed to stay as long as I want. Not that I really _need_ a place to sleep, but immortal lives do get boring when you stay up for too long. And I _am_ obligated to stay with you two."

"One of us more than the other, right?" Magnus asked.

"Yeah, you, since _you're_ the weaker of the two of us," Shu said.

"But _you've_ known him longer."

"And I have had more time to hate him."

"I'm right here, you know," Charon called.

"Sure, hate him," Magnus said, rolling his eyes.

"No bacon for you, mister."

She put the bacon on a big plate, and did the same with the eggs. She set them on the table and gave out plates.

"Eat up, boys. And believe me, Alexander, I know how to cook."

"I'll take your word for it."

* * *

"It's getting worse," Shu announced, looking into the mirror.

There were barely anymore black strands remaining in her hair, and her eyes were now pale and colorless.

"I look like I have some sort of disease."

"Nah. You look more like a female Sephiroth," Charon said.

"All I need are the Mako-enhanced blue eyes."

* * *

"Okay, _now_ I look like a female Sephiroth."

Her eyes were a deep blue that popped like an anime character's, much more obvious than a normal blue color and almost seeming to glow. Not to mention her hair was completely silver now.

"You still look beautiful, angel."

"Thanks, but how long will this last?"

"Who knows? You smell more angelic than ever, though."

"No doubt that this would be so much worse if it wasn't for my constant exposure to darkness."

There was a knocking on the front door, and Alec and Magnus were out on a date, so they'd portal home on their own, not take the front door. Even if they just went somewhere in New York and walked on foot, Magnus would still be able to let himself in through the wards. They didn't lock the door, but instead kept it enchanted to let in only certain people.

Shu went to the door and opened it, only to find…another Charon?

He looked to be extremely injured, covered in cuts and bruises, his shirt and pants ripped and worn, barefoot, thin, shaking as though he was ready to collapse at any second.

"Susu," He panted. "I need…your help…"

"Charon!" She called. "You have a clone!"

And said clone then fell forward and passed out.

* * *

"He's a Greater Demon," Charon reported. "Though he looks like he's extremely weak."

"Why is he wearing your face though?"

"I'm the one wearing the face. This isn't mine, you know. And if he were trying to impersonate me, he wouldn't have done it while I were still here. Plus, his injuries are real."

"So he's impersonating my uncle too?"

"Or…"

She shook her head in disbelief. "No. You are _not_ saying that he's actually-"

"I can't say for sure. But he seems to have memories of you. They're some of his most treasured ones. But there's something else. Something protecting even more precious memories, ones that are at the forefront of his mind, but are also being deliberately blocked by a demon stronger than me."

"Are they precious, as in someone he loves, or are they bad for us?"

"They're more love than hiding some truths."

"He called me Susu…that's what my uncle called me. No one's ever been allowed to use that name, even Magnus."

"Susu?"

"My full name is Asushunamir, but when I was little, I couldn't pronounce it properly. I called myself 'A-su-su-na-mu.' It was…the demons who named me, not my mother, so I was fine with keeping the name given to me even after she was gone and I escaped. When I explained what my name was to him, he started calling me Susu. My mother never used my name. I'm not even sure she knew what it was. She just called me 'girl,' 'devil child,' and the like. Once I was taken in by the demons, they would always call me 'Little Shu.' It's been so long, I nearly forgot what it was like to be called anything other than Shu. I nearly forgot my whole name."

"But you remembered it when I first asked you."

"Yeah. I guess there's no real way to forget it, at least, not for me. And maybe I was okay with it because he said it was beautiful. Maybe it was my own way of keeping him alive."

"You didn't have control over yourself, and you were purposefully pushed to the edge to see when you would break. What happened wasn't your fault. You didn't know he'd be there."

"I understand all of that, that nothing I did or what happened was my fault, but I wish I could've done _something_."

"It was out of your hands. If anything, I'm the one who's guilty for lying to you for so long and _letting_ it all happen."

"You would've only brought trouble for yourself and wouldn't be here with me now. Regretting our mistakes won't do us any good. We might as well figure out the here and now. What are we gonna do with him?"

"If he _is_ your uncle, we'll have to ask him what happened to get him here and how he survived, but we can't be sure yet. You should probably restrain him. Should be little problem while you've got some extra angel power in you."

"He's still pretty weak from his injuries, even if I've fixed up most of the cuts, bruises, and broken bones. He's extremely fatigued and his body has clearly been strained for a good deal of time, as well a malnourished and without proper care. He won't be going anywhere whether I restrain him or not. No matter who he is, he needs sleep, food, water, probably some emotional therapy as well. What are you getting on your end?"

"He's definitely got a lot of pain in his past. Desperation, little bit of hope. He seems like the kind of guy that I'd easily be able to get some nice memories out of him."

"You like that kind of thing?"

"Nostalgia and surviving painful loss. I guess it's something that I've gotten used to. It's happy for deep people."

She scoffed. "I suppose."

She walked over and wrapped her hands around her uncle's wrist, letting her hands glow before a white band appeared around it, fused to his skin. "That'll keep him in check just in case he goes rogue on us, but not do any damage or impede him until then. I'll make him an elixir to help him heal faster. You look after him in case he wakes up."

She hurried around the apartment, grabbing ingredients and mixing them into a cauldron. She also made some soup, mixing in the elixir. Luckily, she'd had plenty of experience with making food and mixing in potions. Whether it was for good effects or bad ones, she knew how to make a concoction tasteless and mix with whatever beverage or meal she wanted seamlessly.

"Hey, how's he doing?"

"He's awake, but really weak. I don't think he can speak. Or open his eyes. Or move…at all."

Shu walked over and set the bowl on the table, helping move her uncle into a sitting position. She waved her magic across him for a diagnosis, feeling his vitals and health. He still seemed to be recovering, but he seemed to be awake and trying to move.

"I'm gonna give you a spoonful of soup. It'll help, I promise."

She moved the spoon to his lips and slipping it in gently, tilting the liquid inside. The elixir-lined meal melted in his mouth and absorbed into his system, helping with his fatigue and famine. He grunted as he made an effort to move.

"Whoa, slow down, honey. Don't strain yourself. A little more of my soup and you'll be in better condition to move."

"I've…gotta go to the bathroom," Charon said. "I'll leave you two alone."

He began to walk off.

"Uh, Chare? That's Magnus's room."

He stopped and turned back, heading in the opposite direction le giving a nervous smile. "Right."

She watched him go suspiciously, but turned her attention back to her patient as he grunted and looked ready to follow after Charon, lurching forward as far as he could, but unable to support himself.

"Hey, hey. Just finish one bowl of my soup and you'll be good enough to talk, all right? But you're in no condition to be up and about."

He reluctantly relaxed into her embrace, and she moved to set him back on the couch. She fed him more of the soup, and he began to relax.

"Think you can speak?"

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He tried again, seemingly forcing his voice to come out, but still nothing. He gritted his teeth in anger and pointed over to her room, his hand shaking from weakness, before it fell once more.

"What?"

He pulled his hand back up into the air once more, holding it up with his other and resting it on the side of the couch. He pointed frantically forward towards her room.

"What? I don't understand. That's my room."

He sighed and let his hands fall, looking down in thought before pointing to her chest.

"What? My necklace?"

She was only wearing Charon's necklace, as she was planning on changing the clasp on her ring one. He reached for it, but she pulled back quickly.

"Whoa, hey, this is _mine_."

He pleaded with his eyes, holding up a finger like 'Just one touch.' She looked him over, seeing concern in his eyes, worry, and desperation. He looked exactly like Charon, and if he really was her uncle, there was no reason not to deny him just one single touch. But the moment something funny happened, she'd pull out. No way was she letting this gem be used for anything evil.

She held it out slowly in her palm, and he dropped his hand on top of it. Her eyes then whitened with a vision.

 _Kandai was lying sprawled across the couch while Charon worked to heal his injuries. The two of them looked near identical, minus the wounds on Kandai as well as their outfits._

 _Suddenly the injured demon shot up to grab Charon's neck. "I don't know who you are or why you're wearing my face, but I will_ not _let you hurt my little girl. I'm gonna need to barrow these."_

 _He stood and shoved Charon back onto the couch where he had just been, the two of them flickering with a dark red aura that completely surrounded them. When they faded, the two of them had switched outfits, and Charon was paralyzed._

 _"Hey, how's he doing?" Shu called_.

Shu's vision returned, and she saw the weakened man in front of her. "Oh, my gods, _Charon?!_ "

He nodded weakly, sighing in relief.

She cupped his face. "Are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't realize…"

He shook his head and pointed again to her room.

"Give me a moment."

She concentrated and focused on the demonic energy that was restraining him. Despite him and Kandai both being Greater Demons, there was a clear difference to the experienced magic-user.

He gasped, breathing hard as it suddenly became a million times easier to move again. "I'm back."

"Are you all right?"

"Pissed off. What is that psycho doing in your room?"

He stood and she quickly followed to find Kandai was searching around.

He was grabbing her ring-necklace from the nightstand where she'd left it, the clasp part removed and set to the side but the leather cord still strung on. The black leather strands hung off the sides of his hands as he stared at the runed metal.

"Hey! Hands off!" Shu shouted.

She snatched up the ring and waved her hand, the white band she'd made on his wrist glowing and causing him to tense up, unable to move and all magic disabled. "This is _mine_. Who the hell are you?!"

"It _is_ you," He muttered. "I-I wasn't sure, but…that ring. You got it from me. Susu, I'm Kandai."

"Why the hell did you attack and paralyze my friend?"

"He's a Greater Demon wearing my face to gain your trust. Excuse me if I was just trying to help you."

"She doesn't need your help," Charon snapped. "And I'm her friend."

"That face belongs to a man, belongs to me. Someone who actually cares for her."

"You think I don't care for her? I know her better than you, arsehole!"

"You only care for the experiment, like _every_ other demon out there!"

"Boys, enough!" Shu interjected, shoving them apart and releasing the freezing spell. "Uncle, I don't think I've formally introduced Valak Mataecharonsan, the Greater Demon in charge of watching over and guiding me down the demon path for the past few millennia. I know who he is, I know why he hangs out with me, and I know why he uses your face, so please stop trying to unnecessarily protect me from him."

"You're Valak?" Kandai repeated, before bowing his head. "My apologies."

Shu blinked, looking between the identical men. "Uh…wait, what?"

"I'm a Lieutenant to a Prince of Hell," Charon explained. "As such, I have _some_ influence over the demon world."

"And we demons know our place in the hierarchy," Kandai finished. "Even me. Valak is high enough that he could punish me. I have transgressed."

"Just start explaining why I should believe you're the original Kandai."

"Oh, that's simple. I can show both of you all my experiences and memories should you choose to view them."

He offered each of his hands, and Shu looked at it hesitantly before placing her hand within his grip. Though he looked exactly like Charon - or the other way around, really - there were significant details in the small ways that they acted, including the way his hand grasped hers.

"Do you want me to see them too?" Charon asked. "I won't pry if they _are_ real and private memories."

"It's okay," Shu said. "I'll determine their authenticity, but fake or real, there's nothing I have to hide from you."

He nodded and took his double's hand, before each of their eyes whitened as a vision took over.


	2. Memories

**I meant to update, but the wifi went down! Put on hold for a freaking hour? 'If you don't wanna wait, go to our website?' THERE'S NO FREAKING WIFI, JERKS!**

 **Haha, screw you too, Century Link! (BTW mobile data can suck too).**

 **At least they finished before next week! Yea!**

 **(Wow, do we realize how reliant we are on wifi?)**

 **Luckily, Word documents can save without internet!**

 **Anyway, enjoy, review, check out the prequel to this if you have no idea what the heck is going on.**

 **:)**

* * *

 _A small girl, who must've barely been able to walk, wandered through a tall field of crops. She had planted and tended to the fields, but she was curious to see what laid beyond her small farm._

 _Around their ranch was a sea of wheat, but when Shu had first gotten curious and struggled her way up a tall tree, she had seen specks that looked similar to her house in the distance. Her mother had told her she had never been beyond the fields, but she didn't care if Shu went. Probably because she hoped that Shu would leave and be killed by the demons, never to return._

 _Shu wandered blindly through the endless fields, the wheat much taller than her. She liked how it poked at her skin, the scratching rather stimulating for her, though she couldn't explain why. Her mother delivered her nothing but harsh abuse, however, this small stinging felt nice and easy compared to that._

 _She was so focused on the serene feeling, that she didn't notice when she bumped into a man's leg. He was even taller than her mother, and he smelled much different. She got a powerful aura from him, and quickly backed away._

 _She said no apologies and gave no excuses, as she had been taught that they only made a situation worse, and only watched to see if the man would ignore her in disgust but decide she wasn't worth his time, or if he'd follow after her to beat her._

 _She had no idea of the difference between genders yet, however, this person seemed much stronger than her mother, and the danger he posed was even greater, if his aura was anything to go by._

 _When he stepped for her, she closed her eyes and braced herself for the coming blow._

 _"Are you okay? I am sorry. I did not mean to scare you."_

 _She felt something gently touch her shoulder and flinched, but there was no pain like usual. His aura was definitely more intense than her mother's - what she was used to - but it didn't seem to be doing any harm. In fact, it seemed to be empowering her in an odd way, it felt good, like the pain of itching a scratch being relieving._

 _"Do you understand me? I am not good at mundane speech."_

 _Slowly, she looked up and flinched back to see the man was much closer than she expected. His eyes were chocolate brown, his hair a shade lighter. But there was something else in them that he sensed, a sort of sadness that he wasn't trying to hide, but it was being covered by a feeling she wasn't used to. Her mother's angry glares had been all she'd ever known._

 _But that dark look in his eyes was familiar. She saw it every time she'd look into her reflection within water._

 _"I…speak."_

 _"You speak this tongue?"_

 _"Ton?"_

 _"Tongue. I mean, language."_

 _"Lang…langu-age?"_

 _"Sorry. I see you know this tongue just about as well as I do."_

 _His speech suddenly changed, though Shu couldn't pin down how._

 _"How about this? Is this easier to understand? You've got demon blood, so I'd assume you speak our language naturally."_

 _"Yes. I understand you. Mama always speaks like you were before, and so I've learned a little, though a lot of what she says I merely have to guess what her meaning is."_

 _"Ah, you're fluent in this language."_

 _"I suppose so. What's a language?"_

 _He looked to her curiously, his head tilting to the side slightly, before he smiled. "It's just a way of speaking to someone with different words having a certain meaning. If you understand what someone is trying to explain to you, then you know the language. If what someone's saying is just a bunch of noise, then you don't understand."_

 _She blinked in confusion, trying to process what he was saying. "Huh?"_

 _"It's not important."_

 _He smiled to her, and though she'd never seen what a smile was before, nor understood what it's purpose was, it made him look really trustworthy. She'd never known a person like him before. Maybe she was dreaming._

 _"Who are you? What are you doing in the fields?"_

 _"I'm Kandai. As for why I'm here…I'm not really sure. I got kicked out of my home, back in the city over that way, and so I've wandered through these fields for a while until I found you."_

 _"My home and Mama are that way," She said, pointing. "You wanna talk with her?"_

 _"No. I shouldn't bother you if you're going somewhere. Perhaps to the city?"_

 _"What's a city?"_

 _"Those things over there. The buildings."_

 _She looked over to the things that looked similar to her house. "No. Mama and I don't go near the other people."_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"They're mean, Mama says."_

 _He sighed. "Yeah, they are."_

 _"You've met them?"_

 _"Yes. And they're not nice to those they don't like. But you look like someone who no one could possibly hate."_

 _She looked down. "Mama doesn't like me. She…she hates me."_

 _"That can't be possible."_

 _"She hurts me. She wants to kill me. But my body refuses to let her."_

 _She rolled up the sleeve of her dress to reveal a forearm full pf bruises and scratches in the process of healing. He took her forearm frantically, and she flinched back from the sudden movement._

 _"How could-? Even a demon mother wouldn't ever do such a thing."_

 _"Mama is no demon. I know that."_

 _"You're right," He said, gliding his fingers gently over the wounds. "She is far worse. No demon would ever harm their children in such a way. If they didn't like them or was disappointed in them, they'd be thrown out or forced to serve a slave, doing extra work and labor under another to make up for any crimes they've committed."_

 _"Mama makes me work too."_

 _"So she makes you work and shames you, but also gives you such injuries?"_

 _"It's normal for Mama."_

 _"Well it shouldn't be."_

 _She looked over to the setting sun and jumped. "I must go! If I'm late, Mama will be mad!"_

 _"You can't possibly still go back there day by day. She lets you roam free, you could run and never see her again."_

 _"I have nowhere to run, and the city you speak of is worse than anything. Mama may be different than them, but she is only one, and I know how to deal with her. Please, stay away and don't let her know you're near. I fear she will punish one or both of us should you be caught. I'll come visit at the sun's rise tomorrow, if you will stay."_

 _"I will. I've got nowhere else I'd rather be."_

 _She nodded and ran back to her house in the distance, and Kandai stood from kneeling down to her, wondering just who and what that child was._

* * *

 _When Shu returned to Kandai, they began to share experiences, information of where each were from and what knowledge they had. Kandai began teaching Shu of many things that she had yet to understand._

 _After growing up with her mother, Shu had never known what a gentle person was like, when they didn't scold her for such simple things or punish her when she spoke or acted without permission. It took a long time, but gradually, she opened up more and more to the man she found herself quickly trusting._

 _At one point, she had run from Kandai after his demonic aura began to show. Another man had been coming through the fields from the city, and Kandai got into an argument with him before suddenly, he got angry and his aura exploded in rage. It wasn't even the scary sight that terrified the little girl, but the wave of power that washed over her just from sensing him, seeing the gentle and kind person she'd begun to open up to losing it just like her mother would._

 _So she turned and fled._

 _She didn't dare venture further than her farm after that incident, managing to keep out of her mother's sight, but also too afraid that Kandai would hurt her even worse. If he got angry at her, her mother's abuse would be put to shame, seem like a luxury._

 _But after many sun rises and sunsets, Kandai came to the farm, peaking his head gently out from the wall of wheat._

 _"Shu."_

 _She jumped and fell to the ground, backing away._

 _"Hey, no, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm sorry for what happened. I was afraid that man was going to hurt you, so I scared him off."_

 _"Y-You hurt him instead?"_

 _He hesitated, before sighing. "Yes, I hurt him a little. But just to make sure he didn't come back to hurt you ever again."_

 _She looked over him, before she heard her mother's footsteps and jumped to her feet. "She comes. Hide!"_

 _She pushed Kandai into the wheat field once more, waiting until her mother's footsteps had receded before she relaxed. She had no idea what her mother commonly did while she was gone, but she didn't dare spy and risk her wrath._

 _"I apologize for my actions previous that had scared you off," Kandai said. "Perhaps we could begin again."_

 _He seemed to remember something before reaching to his jacket's coat pocket and pulling out a flower with blue petals that almost seemed to glow._

 _"Accept a token of my apology?"_

 _She looked at the object in his hand curiously. It smelled really weird, but not in a bad way, just in an unfamiliar one. But her senses seemed to like it, and she reached out slowly to touch it. When she made contact, it felt like she'd taken a breath of fresh air._

 _She looked to Kandai, whose face was pleading for her forgiveness. She saw his concern, how he was afraid of what would happen if she said no. She felt a pang of sympathy, though she had no idea what the feeling within her was or how to describe it. She just knew that she trusted him, that her fear was gone._

 _"Yes," She said. "Perhaps we could begin again."_

* * *

 _"This is a rose."_

 _"Row-sssss?"_

 _"Rose. A friend of mine told me to give it to you. He can't come here, but he says hi."_

 _Of course, Shu wasn't surprised to hear that someone couldn't come and visit her. If it weren't for Kandai, she probably wouldn't have known anyone else existed accept her mother, especially a person being so kind._

 _"Who?" She asked._

 _"Someone I trust, and who wishes the best for you."_

 _"Is he like you?"_

 _"Yes. He saved my life once. And if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here."_

 _Shu assumed that meant he would've never been able to find her, and so she nodded. "Then I like him too!"_

 _He chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. "You should get back to tending to the fields. I can help if you'd like."_

 _She shook her head firmly. "No. It's my job. I can do it. I_ can! _" She insisted almost desperately._

 _"I don't doubt your ability, sweetie. I just get lonely, and I like talking with you. You mind if I stay and talk with you while you work?"_

 _She thought about it for a moment, before smiling and nodding. "Okay!"_

* * *

 _The vision flashed through the two's encounters, from the moment they'd met to the moment they'd last parted. They saw Kandai's perspective from that final day, when he came running through the wheat fields excitedly to take Shu away from this terrible place._

 _But then he saw her being taken away by a group of demons, and ran to assist her. Then, he saw the girl he'd watch grow up scream, the air pulsed with power, and suddenly Kandai could feel nothing but pain._

 _Then nothing at all._

 _But then he woke up. He couldn't move, he felt nothing but pain, and he thought he had been banished to the deeper layers of Hell, where it would take years for him to reform._

 _At least, until he saw a beautiful face above him and heard a soft voice. "Hey, are you awake?"_

 _Kandai tried to move, but everything stung and hurt. He must've just been dreaming while deep in Hell, his physical body gone as he had been banished into smoke._

 _"Easy, love. You're alive, but you're really hurt."_

 _"Ren…?" He realized._

 _"Yes," He said quickly. "Yes, it's me. Gods, I was so worried when you didn't come back from Edom that I…I came after you and found you…"_

 _"You…you came to…E-Edom?"_

 _He nodded._

 _"Ren…you…you could've…"_

 _"I'm fine."_

 _Kan forced his eyes further open and let them adjust to see his boyfriend's face. But it was different. His skin was red and burnt, scarring in patches._

 _"Ren…!"_

 _"Hey, don't strain yourself. I'm fine. You're the one that needs medical attention. I'm healing fast."_

 _"You mean…i-it was worse?"_

 _"No, no! That's not what I…I mean, yes, it was worse, but that's not what I meant to imply. I'm stable and only getting better, but you neeed to stay still and let my potions do the work. Where's your ring? It should've healed you gradually over time if it were still with you, no matter how damaged you were."_

 _He looked down and noticed that it wasn't there. He felt empty without it on, like he was missing a piece of himself now that his finger was empty. He felt bad for losing it, especially since Ren had given it to him when he'd proposed._

 _"I don't know," He admitted._

 _Ren sighed. "Well, what matters is I found you in time. Gods, if I hadn't gotten there when I did…"_

 _"You saved me?"_

 _"Yeah. I brought you back home, and we're in your room. Our room, I suppose."_

 _He mustered a smile but winced as his skin stung._

 _"Anyway, you're gonna be okay, but no moving."_

 _"Where's Susu?"_

 _"I don't know. I've never met her so I don't know what she looks like, but there was no one else on that farm other than you and a dead mundane woman."_

 _"That must've been her mother. Those people…there were other demons there that took her. She could be being tortured. We have to find her."_

 _"We will. But you need to heal first."_

 _"I don't want you going anywhere near Edom no matter how well you're doing."_

 _"That makes two of us."_

 _"But I can't leave that little girl to suffer."_

 _"I fear the two of us won't be enough to lead a search and rescue. If the demons that took her are great in both numbers and power, we won't be able to take them head on, and I doubt sneaking is safe either. The moment we make a move against them, we'll never be able to escape them."_

 _Kan sighed and leaned his head back. "Then what do we do?"_

 _"We hope. They probably won't kill her because they need her and her power to work for them, but I think you've already helped her by strengthening her will. If she can survive their_ _…encouragement, then she might be able to figure out her abilities and escape on her own. If she does, we'll definitely know about it. But I think that's all we can do. If we don't want to end up dead, that is."_

 _Kan sighed. "We can't do_ anything? _"_

 _"There are people higher up than us at work, and we can struggle and scream, but some of us aren't loud enough to be heard."_

 _"Ren-"_

 _"We both know what happens when an ant attempts to challenge the gods. They'd never stand a chance."_

 _He leaned forward and took the angel's hand. "I'm sorry. I know what you've been through, and I know you're scared. We won't go looking for unnecessary trouble, I promise."_

 _"I know she means a lot to you, but_ _…I don't want you hurt. It's selfish. But I care more for your life than I do hers."_

 _He nodded solemnly. "If we go try and rescue her, we won't stand a chance. At least if we stay back, we might be able to see her again."_

 _Ren nodded slowly too, before a moment of silence settled upon them._

 _"I, uh_ _…I made you dinner. I'll go get it."_

 _"Thanks," He said half-heartedly._

* * *

"You survived," Shu muttered.

"Barely. If it weren't for Ren, I wouldn't have."

"H-How? I-I mean…I was so _sure_ that you…"

"I don't know. He's an alchemist, so he works magic I won't claim to understand."

"Where is he now?"

His head fell. "I don't know. Tensions between us grew pretty high after your disappearance. There was no way for us to really get over the fact that we were abandoning you for the sake of our own safety. So, eventually…we lost contact."

"Well, I'm here now, so maybe you can find him again."

"I'm not so sure. He doesn't really like you. If anything, you finally being here is going to make things worse if we were to try and reunite. You're disappearance was always on our minds, and we couldn't live with that kind of guilt on our shoulders."

"So… _I_ ruined your relationship?"

"I…wouldn't say that. It's my fault, really. I just…I couldn't let things go, for understandable reasons, and I hurt him because of it."

"I-I'm sure you can…make up with him."

"I don't even know where he is or how to contact him. It's been centuries. And if I did find him, I wouldn't even know where to start."

"Maybe an 'I'm sorry' would suffice? And then go from there."

"It doesn't sound like enough. There's no possible way to put my feelings into words."

"I'd say it's worth a shot."

"If I can find him."

"I'd be happy to help you. But why didn't you come and find me sooner? It's been centuries since I've been freed, and I _have_ made a name for myself."

"Seeing you out and about, hearing you were fine on your own…I guess it just made things seem stupid. You were fine, you were okay. And we let our worry over you drive us apart when there wasn't really any need. Irony at its finest."

"Time to fix things, then. We'll help in the search for him. Why did you come here all injured, anyway?"

"I faced a large swarm of monsters from Edom that recently attacked the city. I came here to find out why they were appearing and who opened the portal, but a Warlock closed it before I could get past the wards around the city and the demons disappeared once the wards around the city went down. I planned to find a cave to stay in, but it turns out I wasn't the only one and faced a swarm of Edomei. I knew you were staying in New York and had been for a couple decades, so I figured that you were the best place to go for help."

"Magnus and I closed the portal, and we were the ones to rally the Warlocks in order to put up the wards. So you're saying you know where the Edomei went into hiding?"

"They've probably relocated at this point. Why?"

"There was this voice in my head, the demon half of me, and I heard her command the demons to go into hiding and said she would bring them something later. But thanks to Raziel, I've been able to suppress her once more, so the demons must be waiting in vain for her."

"In that case, I'd assume they're not going to be causing any trouble, and they've moved to a more hidden and secure location. For now, they're no harm to anyone unless they get orders. Lesser demons look to orders before they attack, and they wouldn't know what to do without them, especially since they've been told to stay put. Are you looking to hunt them down?"

"I just want to make sure they're not going to harm anyone. If they're staying out of mundane, Shadowhunter, and Downworld business, they're of no consequence to me. I try to keep peace between all of the different types of beings, since I'm technically a part of all of the cultures."

"You're pacifist?"

"Not entirely, but I do want peace, no one attacking no one. I helped convince the Shadowhunters to make the Accords. Even if they aren't very good and it makes the Shadowhunters seem superior to the Downworlders, at least they're not being hunted for sport anymore."

"You…truly have a kind heart."

"I got it from you."

"Then, I guess Ren was right. I _was_ able to help you."

"More than you know."

* * *

Shu set down a tea cup in front of her uncle and another in front of Charon.

"Tea that's good for demons. I know you guys have a hard time tasting mundane food, but I've grown up with Charon, so I know what a Greater Demon can and can't taste."

" _Many_ weeks of taste tests," Charon muttered. "And let's remember that this was back before she had experience cooking."

"We made it past those days, Chare. Let it go, all right?"

"So you two are close?" Kandai asked.

"Yes."

"As in…how close?"

"It's complicated. Charon saved me from the Edom facility, or at least, he rescued me after I'd escaped very weak, and helped me recover. I later found out that it was because he was ordered to, but in the end, we became real friends, not because of orders or anything. We tried dating for a long time, but with an immortal life span and the conditions surrounding our meeting, it was hard to trust each other. Memories were taken or given here and there, and even though it was just because of my father's orders, there would be no way for us to ever have something between us."

"And yet you're here now. Together."

"Yeah. We're trying again, trying to keep from holding secrets. I already know the worst of it, at least as far as I'm aware."

"I haven't kept anything else from her," Charon said. "At least, if I am, I don't know about them. The only orders I've gotten so far are to look after her and make sure she doesn't lean more to the angel's side and go against the demons again. So long as that's happening, there's nothing I have to hide. I've been ordered, in fact, to give her back all of her memories, no matter how painful, so, if anything, things are easier this way."

"Why are you wearing my face, though?"

"I used it to gain her trust, at first. Her memories of you were initially taken away, but her familiar confidence and belief in you allowed for me to easily convince her of my intentions. Of course, she later found out and we separated, but we worked through it."

"If she found out that your face wasn't yours, but mine, then why do you continue to wear it?"

"I suppose it was my way of remembering you," Shu said. "Even for an immortal, our memories are limited. Over time, I would've completely forgotten about who you were, what your face looked like, what your voice sounded like. I just wanted to keep that for as long as I could, and allowing him to keep your memory allowed me to keep it as well."

"And I haven't had a face other than this in a long time," Charon continued. "I suppose I was afraid that if I changed my face after so long, suddenly I'll be a whole nother person to her."

"Then how are we to solve this issue of identical appearances?"

"We'll just have to find a way to differentiate between us."

"Any suggestions?"

"How about this?" Shu jumped in. "Kandai, I won't ask you to change anything about yourself, as this is your face, after all. Charon, I won't treat you any differently if you _do_ change something about yourself, but you don't have to change a lot. I know it's not fair to ask, but can you do something that noticeable, but not drastic?"

Charon sighed, before closing his eyes. His hair darkened from brown to black, his features shifted ever slightly, and when he opened his eyes again, they were green. "Better?"

"Not bad."

"Oh, and this."

He snapped his fingers and both him and Kandai glowed again as their outfits were switched back. "Much better."

"I'll make you a room, Uncle," Shu said. "Oh, and here."

She handed over the necklace he had been trying to take. "This does belong to you, right? I know it's important to you."

"Thank you, Susu."

He took in hesitantly.

"I don't wish to intrude for long, but-"

"Nonsense, stay as long as you want. I wish to learn more about you, what you've been doing these past years without me. And I wish to help in finding Ren and getting you two to make up."

"Thank you, my dear. I'm in your debt."

* * *

Kandai set the gem he'd been given down in front of him on the floor, and it flickered to life, creating an image in front of him.

Namir smiled back at him. "You have the ring?"

"Yes."

He passed it forward through the image, and she took it. "Brilliant."

"Where is he?"

"I haven't harmed him, if that's what you mean. Else you wouldn't be forced to do everything I order. Does she believe your story?"

"Yes."

"So naïve when it comes to you. Anyone else and she wouldn't have believed their word."

"She probably doesn't but is still optimistic."

"In any case, there's little else to do but keep watch over her until the time comes. Report to me anything I should know. I'll send you orders when I need you."

"And Ren?"

"You'll see him soon enough. Just because I'm a Demon Queen doesn't mean I don't hold up my ends of bargains. You'll be able to see him whenever you want. But I must get things prepared, first. You'll see him by the end of tomorrow, and no harm will come to him from me."

The image disappeared and the gem's light died away.

Kandai sighed and laid down on his bed. He didn't look forward to the moment he got orders, nor lying to Shu about what his real situation was. He was forbidden to say anything about Namir or the trouble he and Ren were in.

He knew that Shu might be able to help him, and at the very least, he could warn her about what Namir was plotting, but if he did anything to step out of line, Ren would be tortured. Killing him would be a mercy at this point, as he knew that the Demon Queen wouldn't hesitate to hurt Ren in the worst of ways.

At least he was okay for now, and he didn't have to do anything bad to Shu.

Yet.

Giving her ring to Namir already must've done something bad, as that was a powerful ring, but he didn't have to hurt her or the people around her for now.


	3. Broken Angel

Ren'ai couldn't calm the swirl of nerves haunting him.

At the very least, when Kan was with him, the nights together imprisoned weren't that bad. They were alive, they could talk to each other, and even if Kan wasn't in the best condition, his face was still enough to keep Ren from giving up.

But now he was alone, and Kan was out there hurting someone he cared about all for Ren's sake. And Ren was left alone in the dungeon, knowing he was the reason Kan had made a binding deal with something worse than a devil.

When Kan was with him, at the very least, he could relax enough to rest a little. The torture that the two of them had been through wasn't much, not when it was applied to them day by day. They had gotten used to it, and even though it was bad, Ren always knew that he and Kan would make it through and have the night to themselves, able to talk to each other and keep each other going.

Now that Kan was gone and being used, Ren was more restless than he'd ever been.

He began fiddling with the chains around his wrists and ankles. He and Kan had only tried to escape once or twice before they gave up, worried that the other would suffer if even a single thing went wrong. The two of them weren't fighters, but Ren was still an alchemic genius.

And now, he was motivated more than ever.

His wrists were thin, and so he pushed his thumb inwards towards his palm and pulled as hard as he could. His hand got caught at the thumb part as he slid it through the manacle, but he wiggled it and managed to move the metal down millimeter by millimeter. It was slow, but he eventually freed both of his hands.

Now, for his feet. There was no way that he'd be able to repeat the same process of trying to slide the restraints off, as his feet weren't so easy to manipulate, but at the very least he could reach farther around the cell now that just his ankles were chained to the wall.

He searched around. The room he was in wasn't very modern, so it was basically three walls of stone and a row of metal bars. He'd been moved after Kan left, but it wasn't as though it was a new location. He and Kan had been moved countless times.

He felt around, the only light coming from the moon from a barred up window twenty feet up. As he moved, his back stung with pain that nearly made him pass out, and his right arm was still broken from before Kan had made his deal with Namir, but it wasn't as though he wasn't used to broken bones.

He bit his lip and muffled his desire to scream in pain as he moved around, focusing on his hands and feeling around.

Eventually, he felt a small, thin piece of metal hidden in the crevice between the bricks of the wall and the bricks of the floor. He could barely get a hold of it, but he managed to retrieve it, get a grip on it between his fingers and pull it out.

He quickly went to work using it to pick the locks on his ankles' restraints. He'd never picked an actual lock before, but Kan had made it seem so easy when he'd helped open a door when he'd lost the key. He broke the metal in half before using one piece to jiggle around and another to turn the metal lock.

After ages of struggling, he finally got the lock to turn just slightly, and he turned it further frantically, jiggling around the second pin before finally the clamp released. He moved to repeat the process with his other ankle, flipping the bent metal over and going through another desperate struggle to free himself.

He gasped in relief when the final shackle fell free, his hands shaking as he tossed away the small metal wires and pulled the shackles off. He moved closer to the wall as he struggled to stand, trying to keep himself as still and his movements as smooth as possible because of his broken bones.

The only way he'd be able to escape is if he snuck, as there was no way for him to fight and he didn't have enough energy to heal himself. If he encountered any lesser demons, he might be able to use his ring against them, but encountering them held a high chance of alerting Namir or Lilith of his escape.

He grabbed his metal pieces once more, bending them to put them together and reinforce them so that he could pick the lock on the cell door, which was significantly easier than the manacles. Once he opened it, the danger had begun.

He slowly made his way down the hall, blindly moving forward and looking for places to hide, while also suppressing his urge to scream every time he shifted his broken bones.

He came across a four way crossing in the tunnels, choosing at random and making his way down the path. When he heard screeching coming from behind him, he began moving faster, tasting ichor as he bit his lip hard through the pain.

He finally found a large boulder, similar to the one that Namir had put in front of his previous prison that lead out to the open. Beyond it, he heard the sound of the ocean's waves. So close.

But the rock was far too heavy for him to move in his condition, and he had nothing on him that could help. He cursed under his breath and looked around, wondering if he should try and find another way out or try and use this exit. He didn't know how long it would take him to find another exit, if there was one, and going back the way he came meant walking back into the den of demons.

Before he could decide, he heard the sound of screeching and roaring demons down the tunnel he'd come from, and there was no other way for him to go.

Shax demons came swarming in like insects, clinging to the walls and ceiling to make it look like the scariest swarm of creatures ever, with a couple of the dragon Edomei flying through as well.

They surrounded the angel from all sides, glad to have an excuse to fight the weakened creature. A demon killing an angel would give said demon endless honor and fame, and all were eager to take their chances when the celestial being wasn't so celestial.

Two of the Shax demons were the first to launch forward, but Ren held his hand out and the black ring on his finger with silver runes glowed and they were shattered to dust, their remains absorbed into the ring and disappearing.

The line of demons all roared, from high pitches to low, before the wave of Shax demons surged forward Ren's ring went to work, but their sheer numbers were too much for it, and he began getting numerous stabs, bites, and scratches, adding onto the numerous injuries he already had.

They were working to kill him, and eventually, his ring ran out of power, and they were free to do as they wished.

"ENOUGH!"

A voice boomed down the tunnel, and the Shax demons all exploded into dust from the force of the sound wave alone. The two Edomei dragons landed and parted to the sides, allowing Namir to walk past.

"What is the meaning of this?!" She demanded.

One of the dragons roared, seeming to speak to her.

"I see."

Ren couldn't feel anything anymore, or more accurately, there was only intense pain all along his skin and nothing else but the numbing agony.

"The angel was _not_ to be harmed. Lilith, inform all of the demons of the consequences I shall deliver should something like this occur again."

The two demon dragons bowed their heads and flew off back down the tunnel.

She walked over a kneeled next to the barely conscious angel. "I apologize for the attack that has occurred. It was never my intention for you to be injured. Perhaps I can make it up to you."

She stood and walked past him to grab the large boulder blocking the exit. She heaved it to the side with little effort despite it being much larger than her.

"There. If you want to leave, I'd get going soon. Those wounds are pretty bad, darling."

She walked back down the tunnel as her body scattered into a swarm of black butterflies.

Ren looked out to the cloudy morning light, seeing that he was right in hearing the ocean outside. The exit to the cave was right at the sea shore within the cliffs. Luckily, the tide was low at the moment, and he was able to make his way out of the cave, powering through his overwhelming pain to hobble out to the beach.

He barely made it halfway down the beach before he collapsed, his body unable to go any further as he lost large amounts of ichor.

"I'm sorry…Kan…"

Vaguely, he heard a woman shouting something to him. When had she gotten there?

She was asking him things, seemingly screaming them to him, but he heard nothing over the pounding in his ears, and was too weak to care anymore.

Finally, his mind was able to shut down, and he knew nothing more.

* * *

"What's the situation?" Luke asked.

"A woman called in an injured man she found on the beach during her morning jog. He's pretty beat up, multiple broken bones and lacerations. He's alive, though. They're taking him to a hospital now, but he's lost a lot of blood."

"Any identification?"

"Nothing but a ring on his finger. He's married. He must have some family somewhere."

Luke saw the paramedics taking away the man on a stretcher to an ambulance. "We'll put out an alert once he's stable, see if anyone comes forward to identify him."

He hurried after the medics and hopped into the ambulance with the injured man. As the ambulance took off, Luke looked down the man. He was definitely not mundane, that was for sure, and his blood was golden: angelic ichor. He must've been glamoured so that the mundanes only saw red blood.

He was in terrible condition, but if Luke was right in his assumptions, if the mundanes gave this angel a blood transfusion, who knew what would happen? It's possible that the angelic ichor would simply burn away the mundane blood, but if it were to properly mix since the immune system of the angel was no doubt compromised as well, there was no telling what would happen.

He pulled out his phone and dialed the familiar number he'd been using more and more in recent days.

"Clary? We have a situation. It's an angel. He needs medical attention immediately."

* * *

"Shu! We have a situation! Get up!"

"Magnus, it's Saturday and only 9:00! Is it an emergency?"

"We're being brought in to extract an angel from a mundane hospital. We don't have a lot of time. If the mundanes mess with him, we don't know what kind of damage they might do."

She jumped up. "Are you sure it's an angel?"

"That's what Luke says. He explained there was angelic ichor coming from his wounds. If there's even a chance it's really an angel, we have to get to him soon."

"I'm up!"

* * *

The two Warlocks quickly portaled to the Institute and the waiting Shadowhunter team that had been assembled. Charon was quick to join the fray, as erasing the memories of the mundanes that learned anything about the angel's existence was essential.

Charon and Shu first went to the beach and erased the memories of the cops, replacing them with the memory of a suicide victim, before joining Magnus and the Shadowhunters at the hospital. They quickly erased the memories of all the hospital staff that heard anything about a coming patient, and when the ambulance arrived, Luke jumped out, allowing the paramedics to take the angel out, before their memories were taken and Magnus froze them.

Shu opened a portal and the Shadowhunters carefully took him through. Shu waved the paramedics to leave, keeping their memories on hold until they got back to their jobs so they remembered nothing.

The angel was brought into a recovery room in the Institute, however, Charon wasn't allowed because a demon near an injured angel might disrupt his healing process just from his presence and aura.

"Sorry, Chare," Shu said.

"Just let him get better and find out what's happened. If something did this much damage to an angel, who knows what's out there? Valentine captured Ithuriel. At this rate, all of the angels might be in serious danger. I don't mingle with them, but I do worry if they might pose a threat to us demons as well."

"Understood. Just…look after Kan, I guess."

"Right. Babysitting, I can do, right?"

"I'm sorry, but we were talking to Magnus and I was not gonna hear the end of it."

"No problem. You hurry over and help out that angel."

* * *

Shu waved her hands, her Warlock mark and eyes activating as her magic swept over the angel. His injuries were great in number, and the multiple angles suggested there were dozens of demons all attacking him at once. That might explain where all of the demons from Edom went after the Demon Queen told them to go into hiding.

Shu had to work a lot of her magic to heal so many lacerations, but she managed. There were a couple broken bones, his skin was rough and calloused in places from numerous wounds being made and then healed or just constantly scratched and damaged.

She healed all that she could, but she still sensed he was in pain and needed more treatment. Yet there was nothing that she could see with her eyes or her magic.

"Hey, how's he doing?" Alec asked.

"He's got some kind of injury that I can't find with my magic. It seems he's cloaking it or something, so until he wakes up, I won't be able to heal it."

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

"Who can say? I'd guess that he needs a lot of rest. Let's guestimate a week, but the wounds that I healed might warrant for even more. I felt centuries upon centuries of torture, including both physical abuse and malnourishment. I'm going to act as a sort of magical IV, similar to what Magnus did for you while you were down after trying to locate Jace. I'll feed him energy that will help him heal up and improve his condition until he wakes again."

"Are you gonna be okay?"

She nodded. "I have a lot of magic, and it should replenish itself fast enough to keep up with his healing."

"I'll have to inform the Clave that we took in an injured angel."

"Be careful. I don't want this angel out of my sight. Dealing with higher beings means that the Clave hopefully wouldn't dare do anything without consent."

"But they might play the card that they have better resources in Idris."

"Say that I know him. And I'm an expert on angels. If the Clave wants to talk to me about how to treat an angel, I will be happy to have a chat. I'm sorry if this might get you into trouble. Having an entire Institute under your command, along with your decisions always being put into question because of who you're dating, and the Clave not exactly agreeing with your methods because of their…uptightness. You have to be in a really tight spot."

"I'm…handling it," He sighed. "At the least I have people around me that are supportive."

She nodded. "I like you, Alexander. I know things are going to be really hard with life being life, but I hope you're willing to fight for what you believe. And that you stay in our lives for as long as possible. You are…basically the one Shadowhunter I can stand. Maybe that's because of Magnus, maybe that's because you're just a good person that I like now out of my own personal feelings."

"Well, I'm honored to have your approval."

"You should be. Those who don't usually end up dead in a ditch within 72 hours of knowing me. Maybe a week at most."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You're welcome. Oh, and I might want to add that Charon and another Greater Demon friend of mine may be coming to visit me and the angel. I'm informing you because I trust you, but I don't think anyone in the Institute will like having a pair of Greater Demons being allowed in here. They barely tolerate Downworlders. They'll be restricted to only teleporting in and out of this room, and not without my permission, but I should inform you because that's…responsible, I guess. And I'm less afraid of you blowing up at me about it."

"Do you trust them not to do anything funny?"

"With my life."

"I'll hold you to that. Just make sure you keep your eyes on them at all times, and that if they go anywhere else in this Institute, you know about it and either kick them out or inform me of any foul play."

"Of course."

* * *

" _Charon, I think it might be Ren'ai._ "

"How can you be sure?"

" _He's got a ring on his finger, just like the one I got from Kandai all those years ago, except it's inverted, black with silver runes. But the runes are exactly the same. I've had years to look at my ring, and I know that these are the same ones._ "

"I'll bring him over."

" _Okay. He's stable, but he's not awake yet. He lost a lot of ichor, and it'll take some time for it to regenerate._ "

"At the very least, Kan might be able to identify him."

" _Right. I'll see you in a few. Alec gave permission for you two to come over to the Institute, but I have to keep my eyes on you and you can't wander out of this room for any reason._ "

"I'm just glad Alec's lenient enough to trust us."

" _He_ is _dating my brother, and we've proven ourselves enough times. Just bring Kan over. If this_ is _Ren, then we might be able to help heal the rift that I made between them._ "

"It's not your fault."

" _I know that I didn't do it consciously, that there was nothing I could do, but in a way, it was. I can't change the past, but maybe I can fix the damage done. I love him like an uncle, like a_ father _. I want him happy._ "

"I hear you. We'll be over there soon."

" _All right. Bye._ "

"Bye."

He clicked the button on his phone to hand up and walked over to where Kandai was staying.

"Kandai? It's Charon. We think we've found someone that might be Ren'ai. We were hoping you might be able to identify him."

He opened the door to find Kandai lying on his head, staring up at the ceiling. He almost seemed to be falling asleep, but as a demon, he didn't need much, if any at all. There was a sad look in his eyes, one that Charon couldn't really identify. He assumed it was lovesickness for Ren.

"Kandai?"

The demon reluctantly sighed and sat up. "Yes?"

"We think we've found Ren."

"Ren? That's impossible. I…I've been looking for years and haven't found him. But you've found him in one day?"

"We're not entirely sure. We were hoping you'd be able to I.D. him. Earlier, Shu and Magnus were called in to investigate a wounded angel found on the beach. She found a ring on his finger that looks like the one we gave you, just with inverted colors."

Kandai jumped to his feet. "Take me to him."

* * *

A wave of smoke appeared from the floor and swirled upwards to create a column of black magic. When it dissipated, Charon and Kan were standing there.

"Hey," Shu said.

Kandai froze as he looked to the unconscious angel on the bed. He slowly walked over, as if in a trance. His eyes darted up and down in disbelief, and he gently reached out to touch his face. "Why…?"

"Is it him, Uncle Kandai?"

He sighed in disbelief. "It…it is, but…how…?"

"We found him extremely injured on the beach. Quite possibly that's where the demons from Edom went. Alexander has sent a scouting team to look into it, but most likely they've relocated again."

"Uh huh," Kan muttered, not paying attention.

"He needs time for his ichor to regenerate, and there are some wounds that I know are there, but I can't find. It might be a while before he's conscious."

Kandai shook his head. "He's here. He's getting better. That's enough."

"You're allowed to stay as long as you don't make any trouble for the Institute."

"I don't even know what this place is. Don't worry, I'm not leaving him for a second."

"Okay. You can stay as long as you want."

Kandai nodded, still confused. Why would Namir allow Ren to escape her grasp?

He sighed, leaning his head forward against the angel's shoulder. Either way, he was safe. He was okay. He was healing. He was out of her grasp. Alive.


	4. Cut Off

Kandai didn't leave Ren'ai's side for the entire week. He had to hide himself a couple times when people wanted to come and see the angel, in disbelief that he's real, but Alec and Shu managed to ward them off.

With Charon's help, he looked into Ren's memories to see that he'd managed to escape his chains and the prison he was in, only to get attacked by a swarm of demons when he'd made it to the exit. He'd barely survived, before Namir stopped them all by destroying the Shax demons and saying that he wasn't to be harmed.

Then, she moved the large rock at the exit and let him leave. She didn't heal him, but she still let him go.

Whether she planned for him to be found and healed could be debated, but Kan knew that the Demon Queen would never be so careless.

But he was here. He was recovering. For the first time in centuries, his skin wasn't marred with a single cut or bruise, and he actually looked at peace in his slumber.

"Hey," Shu called as she came through a portal. "How's he doing?"

"Nothing's really changed from before. But I think his breathing is irregular. I can't find any injuries in his chest though, but he's in pain."

"It does seem to be a small bit less than before."

She walked over and put her hand onto the angel's forehead, her hand glowing lightly with angelic power before Ren's head fell to the side and his breaths became shallower and more even.

"I gave him a sedative," She explained. "It should numb the pain and possibly heal it if it exists somewhere. You're right, though. He seems to still be in pain, similar to a broken bone, but I can't find any no matter how hard I look. Charon's dug through his memories as best he can, but his power's limited when it comes to an angel. And Ren's a pretty powerful one too, so the only reason we've got as much information as we have is because Charon's a Greater Demon. All he can really make out, though, is a lot of pain, a little hope, and a lot of care for you."

Kan seemed to take a breath of relief, but his shoulders fell in defeat as well. "What if he doesn't get better?"

Shu put her hand atop his. "He will, Uncle."

* * *

 _I fell through the portal I was tossed through, feeling the wind swirl around. The air suddenly became heavy, weak, with less angelic energy, and I almost felt like throwing up on the spot._

 _I hit the ground hard, rolling onto my back upon impact and instantly regretting it as I felt my back cry out in more pain. I quickly rolled to my stomach and slowly gathered my bearings. Sheathing my wings and somewhat dulling the pain, and leaned against a tree and pulled myself to my feet._

 _The sky was so dark, the world so ugly. I had studied this world, sure, but coming here was a whole different experience._

 _I wanted to cry. I wanted to go home._

 _But I refused to let them beat me down further than they already had. So, I swallowed my sobs and blinked away my tears, walking forward._

 _I wondered if there was civilization anywhere nearby, and if I should search for it if there was. People of this world were supposedly cruel and rash should I stumble upon the wrong one. Yet I needed to find_ someone _to teach me of this world, else I wouldn't last very long._

 _I held up my hand and felt that my powers were still working, but they were significantly weakened without the aura of Heaven constantly surrounding me and feeding me such strong energy. I would have to rely only on my own reserves and regular regeneration rate, which would all be significantly weaker than they could be since I've relied so heavily upon the power of my home up until now._

 _I made my way through the woods, which seemed to be relatively untouched by humans. I needed to find some kind of river with clean water, as well as find a source of food. Down in this world, my energy wouldn't be able to sustain me forever. It would be able to keep me satisfied for a couple weeks or even months, but it wasn't used to supporting me in such a way all on its own, so I would need at least a couple winters' worth of living this way for me to build up reserves and resistances._

 _When I pushed through a line of bushes, I came across a house. It was small, but I sensed a small bit of energy from it that definitely wasn't human._

 _It didn't seem to be harmful, so I walked up and knocked. The door, to my surprise, popped open upon the light push, and I slowly walked in._

 _"Hello?" I called, hoping not to scare anyone._

 _The door_ was _unlocked, and it didn't even seem to have been properly closed. If they were so careless to allow in any passerby, along with wildlife, then perhaps it was best I not venture further, but when I saw what was inside, I reconsidered immediately._

 _The room the door lead into was my own, back from my own house. I never considered that I might never see my household again, but now it was right here. Someone had left it purposefully._

 _I closed the door behind me and locked the door, before walking further in past the living room and seeing that my workshop and lab were there as well, the inside of the house much larger than the outside had appeared. Every book was on the shelf, not a single thing disturbed since I had last been there._

 _I walked into the lab, checking all of the ingredients that I'd collected for potions and my research over the years was all still there. I took my work seriously, and so when I saw a small note was lying within my open journal that I had been working with, I instantly took notice._

 _Walking over, I picked it up and noticed familiar handwriting._

 _"_ Ren'ai. I apologize for the recent events surrounding your banishment. I know I cannot expect your forgiveness; however I hope that this is a proper way to show my intentions of sustaining our friendship. _"_

 _I felt rage boiling within me at just the thought, crushing the small note. He had the gall to apologize to me after he was the one who got me banished in the first place. 'Sustaining our friendship?' As if he believes I'll ever want his 'friendship' ever again. Just because he gave me my home doesn't make up for what he's done._

 _I angrily took out a piece of paper, tearing it from my notebook, and scribbled my reply._

 _"_ You're right. I will never give forgiveness. There is no friendship between us. You forfeited your right to my comradery the moment you accused me of traitorous acts against the court of Heaven. My family shunned me, my friends looked down upon me, and not a single angel listened to my pleas. All because of you. Now, I am doomed to never see my home again. Your petty attempt at generosity sickens me. Never speak to me again. Never write to me again. I believe the words spat in my face at the ceremony were 'This is no longer your world.' You aren't a part of my world. I don't want you to be. Stay out of it. _"_

 _I angrily used my energy to set the page ablaze, before I pounded the table, sobbing. I let out everything I'd been holding in since the moment the Angelic Guard had stormed into my house and put me under arrest, my best friend leading the charge._

 _I couldn't ever see my friends or family, I would never be able to walk with the angels, I would never have the life I loved again. I had pleaded that it wasn't my fault, I had begged them with all I had that I hadn't known. They looked into my memories, they saw that I meant no harm. But they still cast me out, sentenced me to a life in this place forever, never again to live as an angel._

 _They punished me with shame, a life of sorrow and hatred. They would've had more mercy if they had just killed me. But that's not how the angels worked. They would refrain from killing at all costs, and there were no records of executions to date._

 _Even the demon that had tricked me, he was being taken to the demons as a bargaining chip. The angels_ actually _expected the demons to punish him? I'd bet my life that they were the ones who sent him to trick me in the first place. But even he got to go home._

 _And all I could do was sob. I could scream and shout, I could tear the pages of my work out - the very thing used against me that banished me in the first place - I could smash the jars holding all the work that I'd collected, hoping only to_ help _, which had all gone to waste._

 _But none of it helped. I still felt as empty as ever._

 _The demon got to go to Hell, but in a way, so did I. Except this wasn't home to me. This was worse than any hell one could imagine. This was_ my _hell._

 _This was my reality now._

* * *

Kan worriedly swiped a washcloth over Ren's forehead. He was having another nightmare. He'd always have them, back while they were living together before their capture.

Kan was still worried about the fact that Namir had let Ren go, and he had checked Ren a million times for some kind of brand or implant that kept him on some kind of leash or risked his life, but there was nothing.

Based on the memories that she didn't want him harmed, he assumed it was because he was still some kind of bargaining chip for Kan's compliance. Even though Ren was out of her harsh imprisonment, the demon had still made an oath that he would follow her orders or else Ren would suffer, and a demonic blood oath was not to be taken lightly.

Ren started shifting in his sleep, but then winced in pain, and Kan quickly held him still. "Shh, Ren. Calm down. It's okay. I'm here. You're safe. I've got you."

Ren sighed and leaned into his touch.

Just what was he dreaming about, anyway?

* * *

Jace Herondale has been through a lot within the recent months.

First, there was Clary Fairchild, the girl whose appearance changed everything for him, his family, and his perspectives on life for better or for worse. After her, everything seemed to be spiraling out of control.

He fell in love with her, only to find out that she was his sister, only _then_ to find out that she _wasn't_ his sister, just an accidental experiment of Valentine's that made them alike, so a little lying caused them to believe him.

He thought he had demon blood, and Valentine took him in and tried to make him loyal and turn against the Downworld by trapping him on his boat and barely making it out alive, only to be framed for fucking murder not two seconds later and having the entire Downworld against him while he was trying to save his parabatai from dying.

Aldertree was a bitch to him (also got Izzy addicted to Yin Fen, but let's stay on topic), but then it turns out he _didn't_ have demon blood and _didn't_ warrant all that shitty treatment and was actually a Herondale, basically Shadowhunter royalty and the _opposite_ of a guy with demon blood.

He finds out he's got some weird power to allow him to activate runes without a stele (Clary being able to make her _own_ runes, but once again, staying on Jace's issues here).

Ties between the Downworld and the Shadowhunters became shaky with Valentine's meddling (which was _always_ fun to deal with), the Seelie Queen manages to convince Magnus to turn the entire Downworld against the Shadowhunters (or at least not help them) only to turn around and make a deal with _Valentine_ instead, the _very_ guy that they all rallied behind her for shelter from in the _first place_ , and suddenly it becomes a race to stop the guy at Lake Lyn.

Sebastian/Jonathan happened (way too much trouble that guy made), one of the freaking Clave members was a follower of Valentine and nearly executed him and Clary, Jace actually _did_ get killed by Valentine but was brought back to life by an angel yet suffered from occasional waves of pain.

Oh, but that's not it, friends!

Now, he'd been sent with a scout team of Shadowhunters to search the area where the angel had been found - yeah, _another_ freaking angel (so much for being extremely rare) - and it began to rain! Downpour was a better word for it, since an entire ocean was basically coming down on them, the sea was trying as hard as it could to swallow up the beach and destroy the cliffside, and the winds were worthy of a level 5 hurricane.

Jace didn't watch mundane news, but if what the people on the television in the bar they were taking shelter in were right, this storm came out of absolutely nowhere. Just yesterday the skies had been completely clear and sunny, but this morning, the clouds rolled in and by noon the entire city was being drenched and struck with heavy gales.

"We're stuck here unless you portal us out, but there are tons of mundanes taking shelter here and nowhere secure to do it in privacy."

" _The entire city is suffering right now,_ " Alec reported. " _Magnus and Shu have rallied the Warlocks and are portaling people to safety, Downworlders and Mundanes alike, with Charon erasing the mundanes' memories and replacing them with transport vehicles rescuing them. They're all working around the clock, but it's still gonna take some time. You weren't the only team of Shadowhunters who were out on missions, so I can't exactly take favorites and ask for all Shadowhunters to be brought in first, since we can't really do much about the weather._ "

"That's my concern, Alec. What if this isn't just the weather? All of those demons from Edom going missing, just like that? An angel appearing out of nowhere, wounded and barely alive, just before this storm hits? Someone's doing this on purpose, making this storm and probably hiding all of those demons."

" _I know, I came to the same conclusion. But whatever they're doing, it's working in forcing us to stay away. New York can't take much more of this storm, we're all stuck taking shelter and moving our efforts into helping people, and if this happens every time we go after them, then we aren't left with a lot of options._ "

Jace was about to ask if Alec had some kind of plan, but then he saw one of the Edomei dragons fly by outside, barely affected by the storm, landing at the entrance to an alley across the street from the bar and bowing his head to a woman who petted it affectionately. Even through the storm and the small view he got through the boarded up window, he saw her eyes flick over in his direction, staring straight into his own with glowing cat eyes, similar to Magnus's Warlock mark.

"I think I found her," He announced.

" _What? Jace, found who-?_ "

But he hung up his phone and went to the door, pulling it open (unconsciously activating some of his runes) and running out into the storm. His team of Shadowhunters shouted for him, but the storm forced them to shut the door and quickly nail it back into place. Jace was on his own.

He didn't even realize it, but the storm seemed to be having no effect on his whatsoever. The winds were barely a breeze to him, the rain didn't even seem to be touching him, and the thunder clapping around him sounded muffled, like it was a lot farther away than the storm actually was.

He sprinted across the street to where the woman and her dragon had retreated further into the alley, drawing his weapon and running in after her. When he reached the end of the alley, he found her leaning against her dragon casually, listening to its growls as though they were having a conversation.

She looked over to the Shadowhunter casually, as though they were meeting for coffee, and it was then that Jace suddenly realized that he'd just run straight after a woman who might be responsible for creating the storm over New York and making the portal to Edom to summon all of those demons without any backup and right into the alley where she wanted him.

"Hello, Jace. I see you're doing well."

She swept her hair to the side and let her cat eyes fade to pure black pupils. From a distance, one could almost imagine they were a dark brown. But as she took a few steps closer, he saw that they were much creepier. And he also saw that her face was very familiar.

"Shu?"

"I go by Namir, darling. The good thing about having a name so long is that we can split it into different parts. But I have to admit, the Lightwood boy _is_ much cuter. No wonder little old Maggie fell for _him_ instead, and you got stuck with the whiny Fairchild girl. ' _I wanna find my mother, I don't care about the rest of you and your rules, so I might as well exploit your kindness by having you go rogue and getting you in trouble!_ ' ' _You stole my memories, you lied to me, you tried to hurt my friends, and since I'm_ obviously _the most important person on the planet, you are evil!_ ' ' _I'm the key to activating the Soul Sword, oh but I'm just gonna go over to where it's located to save my friend, promise I won't touch it even though I could very easily be forced to!_ ' ' _OMG I can draw new runes, I'm_ so _special now!_ ' ' _I am_ always _right, bitches, so when I decide to break out dangerous criminals even if it means hurting my own friends who are actually in the right about things, you should be behind me._ ' ' _WHAT? That person betrayed us? No way! I am_ totally _the victim here. Pity me!_ ' ' _Walking head first into an obvious trap with no backup even though people tell you not to, is_ such _a great idea, right?_ ' Oh, and I think she's rubbing off on you. The list just keeps going _on_ and _on_. Really, I'd kill that girl twenty times over if it weren't for her being the protagonist of this story."

"Are you done yet?"

"Oh, no, darling, I'm barely getting started. I haven't had a lot of people to talk to in recent years. It gets dreadfully boring in Edom, and little Shu's head is so…angelic. But here I am, back in the world of mundanes. Ah, the air is so crisp and clean."

"Well, you're going right back to where you belong."

She laughed, and even Jace had to admit that his threat seemed pretty empty while he was facing off one-on-one against a woman that was currently tearing New York apart with a storm and had lured him into what was most likely the middle of a trap.

"You're cute, darling, but not _that_ cute. At least Alexander looks on the dark side of a situation, something I can appreciate. Maybe that's why he balances you out as your parabatai. You people are so blinded by the light you can't even fathom the darkness sometimes. It's honestly annoying, and the Fairchild girl has it the worst. Hopefully she'll learn a sense of humility one of these days."

"Clary is smart and powerful, and she's had it harder than you'll ever know, so don't start going around saying that she's too optimistic. She's stopped believing in herself before, so she's _had_ to keep herself strong if she wanted to move forward."

"Trust me, honey, she's overdramatic about a lot of her misery. There are things in this world that make her problems seem like a soap opera written by person who was high and drunk all at the same time."

"She lost her mother, her father and her brother are psychopaths, her friends are constantly getting hurt and she takes the blame for it-"

"Unnecessarily, I might add. You people blame yourselves for mistakes, and while that's touching and honorable, you people act like you're the victims and are practically begging for people to pity you because _you're_ making _yourself_ feel sad. It's okay to be sad about something, even I can admit that, but don't start letting it affect every little thing about your life. The only reason it's haunting you is because you're _letting_ it haunt you, perhaps even _making_ it haunt you so that you feel better about yourself. Trust me, it's psychological for everyone, mundanes, Nephilim, Downworlders, even some demons and angels. But enough with the chit-chat. I love to crush your hopes and dreams by making all of your hope seem meaningless, but I'm kinda on a dead line, and honestly, you're annoying me to no end. Just looking at your stupid little face is giving me a migraine."

"What do you want? Are you creating this storm?"

"Yes, and honestly, it's really a waste. I mean look at all these nice buildings. I personally think fires are the best way to take down a city, because it makes a _beautiful_ scene, but I didn't want to do permanent damage to anything."

"How generous of you."

"Oh, don't worry, I've still got some fun plans in the future. A good deal of which are resting upon you. Now, don't start thinking I have great needs for you or anything, but Lily has plans for you, and personally, I think using you would be a good way to shake things up with Alexander, and in turn Magnus, and in turn little Shu. Even after that, it might affect Uncle Kan and his boyfriend too! Not to mention it'll make Miss Fairchild real depressed! Really, it's a win-win-win-win-win-win-win situation. Oh, I'm rambling again, aren't I? I tend to do that. Sorry. I'll cut to the chase."

She surged forward faster than the eye could see and whacked him hard on the neck as hard as she could, causing him to crumble to the ground, his sword clattering to the pavement.

Hefting him over her shoulder, she took the sword and examined it. Hm, might come in handy.

"Let's go, Susan!" She called.

The dragon demon walked over to her and she jumped aboard with ease, even hefting another man along with her. The dragon took off, taking them through the storm with ease, cloaking them to mundane and Shadowhunter eyes.

She hummed to herself happily over the sound of the storm. Now the real party was about to begin.


	5. It Was Raining When We Met

_I heard a storm._

 _That's right, it was raining on the day we met._

 _I walked through the forest, searching for some herbs. I might as well try and live a life here, if this was where I was going to be stuck for all eternity. The problem with being an angel was that even when I was as weakened as I was, I was still very hard to kill._

 _I was immune to disease, it would take millennia for me to die of hunger or thirst, I still healed ten times faster than any mundane - unless the wound was specifically made by a weapon of anti-angelic power - my power would sustain me underwater for months on end, I could be tossed down from the sky to the ground and still recover from the impact within a few hours, and extreme heat or cold would make me miserable, but wouldn't be able to kill me._

 _I was still an alchemist, a hobby that was still entertaining for me. Now that I was in a new land, I might as well take the opportunity to experiment with the new flora and possibly fauna. I'd already checked out the plants near my home, and a made a bunny friend who seemed to be following me around despite my urgings to go home._

 _Eventually, I accepted the bunny and named him Bun-Bun because I lack proper naming skills. BB, for short, I supposed._

 _I tried to keep my mind off of how much I missed home, but it was kinda hard with everything around me reminding me that I was in a different land. Even when I was in my house, it only made things worse because I woke up the first few weeks thinking that I was still in Heaven, and that my banishment had just been a dream._

 _The pain ate away at me from the inside out every moment, and I occasionally broke down, crying myself dry or destroying some things in my lab, having to clean the damage up afterwards. At the very least, I was able to bottle some of my tears for use later._

 _BB seemed to sympathize with me, even though he was just a little baby bunny and didn't know how to communicate yet. Angels could understand all creatures, but while humans communicated through speech patterns, other creatures communicated through gestures or basic survival understandings._

 _I sighed. "You're lucky, BB. You only ever have to focus on your survival. Meanwhile I have too much brain power and I'm able to understand way more suffering. Ignorance is bliss, my little friend."_

 _The bunny gave no reply, but he did give a look of confusion. He didn't really interpret my speech as anything more than noise, but he knew when I was referring to him at least._

 _I noticed that the skies were darker today and worried about my little bunny. He insisted on staying beside me though, even as I put him in the little bed I made for him and told him to stay put. I didn't lock him in my house, as he was free to leave me whenever he wished, but he instead wanted to stay by my side and helped me look for different plants._

 _When I felt a raindrop hit my wrist, I quickly bottled my samples and grabbed BB, putting him in my jacket pocket for safety. I was afraid that he wouldn't like it at first, but he seemed content and adjusted to the jostling rather fast._

 _I was heading back to my house when the rain started pouring down. The trees offered a bit of protection, but I had to use my aura to keep the rain off. My power had been growing stronger as I used it without Heaven's aura supporting it, but it was still something that I had to be careful with. Still, a small task like waterproofing wasn't too hard._

 _When I reached my house, I was surprised to find there was a person slumped against the side of the building. It looked to be a male form, but he smelled…powerful, in a dark way. I sensed a demonic aura from him, and I hid back behind the trees._

 _What was a demon doing here? Wasn't it bad enough that one of them got me cast out of Heaven, but now they were haunting me in my exile?_

 _The demon should've been able to sense me, but he didn't make any motions. He seemed to be asleep, and if it weren't for the slight rhythmic movements of his breathing, I might've been convinced he was dead._

 _BB seemed to be getting impatient, poking his head out to look around and see if we were home yet. He saw the demon, though he didn't seem deterred. Animals of this world were able to sense demons and angels, and BB had some good intuition, but he had never been so rash as to try and jump out of my pocket._

 _"Bun-Bun!"_

 _I quickly caught him before he fell all the way from my breast pocket to the ground. I wasn't the tallest angel, but it was still more than enough of a drop to hurt the poor thing._

 _He squirmed free of my grip, running across the ground over to the demon._

 _"BB!"_

 _I ran after him and snatched him up, hugging him up against my chest despite his squirming to get free._

 _The demon noticed us, his head rising slowly. I took a few steps back, but he had already spotted us._

 _"Why are you here, demon?" I demanded, trying to sound confident._

 _I didn't have the strength to summon anything to defend myself, and I was a pacifist, so I didn't like weapons or the idea of fighting at all._

 _But the demon merely sank back against the wall again. "So this is my punishment. Please, make it quick, angel."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Kill me. I don't care how, but I request you make it quick. I need not more time suffering the shame of being at the mercy of an angel."_

 _I blinked in confusion. So he_ wasn't _here to kill me? Or maybe he was here to trick me like the one before._

 _"What do you mean? Why are you here?"_

 _"I have transgressed. I have been thrown to an angel who shall kill me."_

 _I looked around, unsure of what to do. Even if I_ wanted _to kill him, I wasn't really sure that I had the energy to do anything fatal. Besides, it didn't seem that the demon was hostile. It was entirely possible that he was just trying to see if I would let him live and then make fun of me if I didn't, but at the moment, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him._

 _If a creature as vile as he could wish for death, then what could have happened? He said that this was his punishment. Irony, perhaps, that this was where I was sent for my punishment as well._

 _I hadn't found any traces of mundane life, and I questioned whether this truly was the mundane world or just some sort of artificial prison, so possibly this was a place of limbo, torture for angels and demons alike. Not that I knew much about demons other than what I'd been told and tried researching._

 _I had done all the research I could, but angels knew very little about demons since they wanted to pretend like they didn't exist. My curiosity for them is another piece of evidence used against me in my trial. I only did my investigations to help, make sure that we weren't blind to the demons should their numbers grow large enough to pose a serious threat._

 _Still, even with all my efforts, I had yet to do proper experiments on a real demon before. I wasn't one to kill anything, but perhaps this demon would accept punishment instead: being the subject of my research._

 _It was the only idea I had, since I wasn't going to kill this guy, but he didn't look like he was going to leave any time soon and_ _wanted_ _some kind of retribution for whatever he'd done to be sent here. I did sense that his aura was weaker than the demon that had tricked me before, and though I knew I should be cautious, he couldn't really do anything to make my situation worse than it already was._

 _That's what I told myself, anyway, but there was something else within me that trusted him. I couldn't place it._

 _Despite what I really should've done in my situation, especially after all that had happened with me and demons before, I slipped my bunny into my pocket and moved to pulled the demon into my arms and pick him bridal-style. He was a little taller than me, and lot more fit, but this was just my current physical form, and my real strength came from my powers within. Considering I'd been training up my aura again, he weighed nothing._

 _"H-Hey! What the Edom?!" He shouted, squirming in my grip._

 _"I have to bring you inside. The rain makes this an unsuitable location for anything, acting as an inconvenience to you as well as me."_

 _"Didn't know an execution took a proper setting."_

 _"I have no intention of killing you. I must do some experiments. It's not every day I get the opportunity to have my own demon at my mercy. If I am the one to decide your punishment, then I choose not to kill you, and rather to keep you."_

 _"Do all angels use the shaming technique? Of keeping us like pets?"_

 _"Most of the time. But should any other of my kinsman have found you, you would probably be sent back to where you came from as some sort of bargaining chip."_

 _"So you're much worse."_

 _"So I've been told. However, I'd imagine that going back to the people who banished you is truly a punishment, especially for demons."_

 _"You know nothing about demons. Do you believe us savages?"_

 _I pushed open the door and then closed it behind me, walking over to the couch in the living room to set him down on. "Please, do enlighten me."_

 _"We do what we do for survival. We are treated like monsters because we are different, nothing more. Lilith was cast out of Eden for being who she was created to be, for sharing her opinion and refusing to be nothing but a slave. Adam treated her like a pet, a servant, when they were born to be equals, and accused her of not being complacent, as though he owned her. She was supposed to be his equal, but she was cast out just for being a woman, as Adam could've very well been banished as well from Lilith's perspective of the matter, and replaced with Eve. I bet your big boss regrets making_ _her_ _, huh? She and Adam got kicked out of Eden for good reason. They deserved it."_

 _"Humans are a flawed species, but they are diverse. They have the ability to expand and adapt, move beyond survival instincts and open their minds to other ways of life, even if it can take many centuries, millennia, or more. Our species cannot change; we are born not wanting to. Both of ours."_

 _The demon chuckled._

 _"What?"_

 _"I expected you to make a quip about how Lucifer was the one to get Adam and Eve kicked out."_

 _"That's true, but it was Eve who believed him and ate the fruit despite her clear order not to. And Lucifer was a fallen angel. I can see why he'd be angry. In any case, enough with the history lesson."_

 _I walked over to my lab in the room next door, grabbing some empty jars off the shelves and returning._

 _"Okay."_

 _I plucked some hairs from his head and put them in one jar, labeling it._

 _"Ow, man. Little warning next time."_

 _"Sorry. This won't take much longer. Now, I'm gonna need some blood, skin, nails, and saliva."_

* * *

 _As I was labeling jars, BB hopped out of my jacket pocket and landed on the demon, who jumped and shoved him away, taking shelter at the opposite end of the couch._

 _"What is that creature?"_

 _"It's a bunny."_

 _"A what?"_

 _"I call him a bunny, anyway. You stay away from him; he'll stay away from you."_

 _"Uh…okay."_

 _He slowly relaxed, but he was still staying at the far end of the couch. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of a little, harmless bunny._

 _"So, are you gonna let me go eventually, once you're done getting your stuff?"_

 _"If I find no more use for you, sure. For now, there's much I can do with these samples, though trial and error will most likely result in numerous need for refills."_

 _"And what if I just got up and left? What then?"_

 _"The walls of this house are enchanted with angelic energy. If you want to risk walking out without permission and risk being burnt to a crisp, be my guest."_

 _He crossed his arms and sunk further into the couch, grumbling something to himself._

 _"So, do you got wings? I heard angels have wings."_

 _"We keep them sheathed for safety as well as convenience. They're heavy, you know. Especially if you have more than one set."_

 _"How does that work, anyway? What dictates your number of sets?"_

 _"The higher you are in the hierarchy, the more you get. They're a symbol of your rank and power."_

 _"I hear archangels are supposed to have more than one pair, but what_ are _archangels?"_

 _"It's complicated. It depends on how much you've done to earn your position. We're born into certain places on the hierarchy, but can move up or down depending on who we are and how dedicated we are. It's never easy, but it's possible."_

 _"So you're a scientist? Does that mean you're pretty high up? What are you doing in a backwater place like this?"_

 _"I'm here…for research. This world is very unique, and I'm the angel that gets his hands dirty by coming to such '_ backwater _' places, as you put it."_

 _"Yeah. I didn't expect an angle to be brave enough to approach a demon, let alone make contact or conversation."_

 _"You're harmless to me. And even if you weren't…well, dying in this place doesn't seem like much of a bummer."_

 _"I'm guessing you're an outcast?"_

 _"What do you mean by that?"_

 _"You're the guy who sticks out, and people don't like you for it."_

 _I sighed. "Yeah, basically."_

 _"And so people probably wouldn't mind if you died."_

 _"Yep."_

 _"So you're here…what? To get out of their hairs and be left alone?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"Because to me, you look more like the guy who was banished here because you were different."_

 _I flinched, and he laughed in his success. "Ha, so we're_ both _here because of that then."_

 _"What did you do to get here, then?"_

 _"Me? I…well, I had pity."_

 _"Pity?"_

 _"There was this little girl who was beaten, told she needed to suck it up. But she was so young, barely born before she was nearly drowned and whipped. I wanted the others to take it easy on her, but they said she needed to learn what it meant to be a demon and continued."_

 _"That's terrible!"_

 _"Yeah, even for us that's harsh. I expressed my concerns, but was brushed off. I was banished from my city, but I accidently stumbled upon her and her farm. She was a cute little child, and she had been born and raised to believe that punishment was a normal thing, expected for the simplest things. It's true we have a harsh society, but the point of being a child is to learn from your mistakes, and we demons are_ raised _to cause hell when necessary. She was just so submissive, it was terrifying. When I discovered that it was actually_ her _that I had met, it was when I got kicked out of Edom to this hellhole."_

 _"Perhaps I can help you get back to her."_

 _He scoffed. "You're an angel. What makes you think you can make some kind of portal back to a city of demons? I doubt you lazy arses know anything about us."_

 _"I'm the angel that gets my hands dirty, remember? I haven't been shy about my studies into demons, but now that I have actual samples, I might be able to make some serious progress into angelic and demonic powers. Quite possibly I could harness my angelic power and make it compatible with demonic origins."_

 _He looked extremely surprised, blinking a few times before hiding his face behind his knees and looking to the side. "W-Why would you want to help me? We just met, and I'm a_ demon _for crying out loud."_

 _I looked to BB, who looked like he was stalking his prey as he stared blankly at the demon at the other end of the couch. I don't know why I trusted this demon, but even after all that I'd been through, I didn't see the threat. Perhaps that was a natural quality of a demon, seeming completely harmless against all odds. But I had nothing more to lose. This demon could kill me or torture me, take my experiments, or anything else he could think of. How much lower could I fall? Everything I did now was pointless. I had no more friends (unless you included my bunny), family, or life._

 _If I could befriend him, then why not? If he betrayed me, I wouldn't be very surprised, and at least I could pretend to have a friend for a little while longer before I died. It was only a matter of time before I was killed. Might as well speed up the process and lessen the suffering._

 _So, I simply shrugged. "What's there to lose? I'm banished. It's not as though the angels can punish me for conspiring with a demon, as I'm no longer within their jurisdiction. And if you're to betray me, so be it. Like you said, death is a better punishment than living in the shame of being cast out. Besides, I'm curious to see if this will work. Might as well."_

 _He stared at me for a long moment, and I began to shift awkwardly under his gaze._

 _"A-Anyway. I'll go get some food. It's made from this place, so it should be harmless to you if it's harmless to me."_

 _I hurried out of the room, suddenly extremely nervous as to what he was thinking. He didn't have the same look in his eyes as_ him _, but it was still unnerving in a way. It was the curiosity of a demon, one that could swing either way, harmless or deadly. There was caution and hardness, but also confusion and interest._

 _And his face didn't look hostile, not really._

 _If anything, it looked extremely ho-_

 _Stop it! No! Bad brain! Don't make the same mistake_ again!

 _I breathed and quickly gathered some food for the two of us and made some tea. Did demons like tea? What if he didn't? Could demons even taste at all? Another great test to add to the list._

* * *

"Jace has been taken. Please, there _has_ to be a way you can find him!"

"I'm _trying_ , Alexander. _We're_ trying. Whoever has him has a lot of power, too much for us to break through."

Alec paced back and forth across the room in the apartment. "T-There's…there's gotta be _something_."

"We'll do all we can," Shu promised.

"But you need to keep calm," Magnus continued. "Stressing yourself out isn't going to help you, and it's not going to get Jace back."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry, it's just…I don't know. I can't think. I've worried over Jace before, but…"

"You're a different person, Alexander," Shu said. "You're heart isn't made of stone anymore. It's been opened, exposed, hurt, and mended. Jace is your parabatai, your brother, and your best friend. Next to Magnus, and the rest of your family, he's the closest person to your heart. You have to learn to control your fear and anxiety, channel the energy that you've been given into finding him."

"The storm outside was definitely demonic in origin," Charon reported. "But now that Jack-"

"Jace."

"-that guy is gone, it's disappeared as well. The whole point of it was to capture the blonde dude, while simultaneously showing off the power they have. We're talking about someone far outclassing me and anyone I've ever encountered."

"I have to get to the Institute and help out with the search," Alec said. "Try and find out who's doing this and where. Maybe demon blood will have better luck than us."

Magnus waved his hand and created a portal. "We'll keep you updated."

Alec nodded in thanks and hurried through.

"Not even a kiss goodbye," He muttered.

* * *

Alec didn't come back that night.

"He's searching for Jace," Shu reasoned. "Give him some time."

"I know," Magnus claimed, but she could tell he didn't like the prospect of Alec being stressed out, nor the separation that was going to come from the situation. "We'll support him all the way."

"Charon?"

"The memories of the guys that Jace had been with aren't anything they haven't already told us. Jace saw some woman in an alley with a dragon. The only things I can make out are details that they didn't remember. Apparently, she had cat's eyes like Magnus, or more accurately, your father. Could be an aunt, but I can't identify her since he's higher on the hierarchy and his family is none of my business."

"As if we needed anymore bad blood."

"Yeah, considering all _your_ blood relations."

"You do realize by that logic you two are related?" Magnus pointed out.

"Trust me, it's a fact I chose to shove to the depths of my mind," Charon shuddered. "It would make me her father. Granted, it's not like there haven't been weirder relationships in the past between celestial - or otherwise - beings. And through that logic, she's got a _lot_ of parents. I think it's best we not focus on such technicalities. In any case, I've got some of my servants looking into people's memories and checking if there's any news, as well as asking around the demons. If nothing else, there's going to be someone wanting to brag about capturing the infamous Jace Herondale."

"Or they could be ordered into silence," He realized.

"My memory demons extract information. Our methods of gathering information is far superior to you half-breeds. However, I'll admit that we _are_ working with someone dangerously powerful. Because they're demonic, I _am_ limited in how far I can overstep my bounds. How's the recovery of the angel going?"

"Kandai says he's having nightmares," Shu reported. "He's too afraid to use any powers because of how weak Ren'ai is. But at the very least, he's stable."

"Maybe you should go and try to help."

"I don't have too much experience with angels. I'm not sure if I can do much good. Besides, I'm really concerned about this possible relative of ours that took Jace. No rest for the wicked, right?"

Shu headed back to her room, rolling her shoulders in discomfort. She must've pulled something in training earlier, since her back felt sore and was seriously bothering her.

Of course, she'd never had lasting pain unless it was sabotage. Yet she didn't sense any foul play.

Oh well.

Maybe a shower would help.


	6. His Name Was Kandai

_His name was Kandai._

 _He was a 'Greater Demon,' a demon above some of the lower classes._

 _He was quiet and reserved, less violent than the other demons and he himself was interested in the science of angels. He played instruments quite well, and we were able to play pieces together that actually sounded pretty decent. He loved reading up on all of the notes I'd taken from my experiments, and soon, the bookcase was beginning to fill with his own notebooks as we worked together._

 _I barely knew him for more than a day, he was a Greater Demon - the same kind of being that got me kicked out of heaven - and yet he was suddenly my best friend. The possibility of everything being a lie always remained, but I continued to tell myself that there was little else that could hurt me at this point, that I might as well take what I could get._

 _By the end of the week, the two of us had a routine. Kandai would sleep on the couch, I would sleep in my room. When we woke up, we would take turns introducing each other to the kinds of food each of our species liked for breakfast. We would sometimes eat while writing notes and thoughts we may have had - but no food in the lab, of course (something I've have to scold Kandai for) and then we got to work._

 _Days passed in a blur, weeks, then months. Kandai merged into my life so quickly I didn't even remember when he stopped becoming that stranger demon I picked up outside and turned into more my friend who I was living with to help pay the rent - though we obviously didn't have to do any paying._

 _Kandai was shy at first, unwilling to do many things less out of caution and more out of depression, feeling that nothing was really worth it. It's not as though I hadn't felt the same way about things ever since I'd fallen from home, but once I saw the characteristics of depression on someone else, Kandai in particular, it suddenly inspired me to cheer him up, stay on the bright side._

 _He did open up, eventually, and though we always had our concerns, we made some kind of silent agreement that we'd be fine if we betrayed each other, but until then, we might as well be friends._

 _For some reason, it was just so easy to get along with him, to bring him into my life. Perhaps that's because I felt my life was already over, so why not? But I couldn't really place the feeling, not really. I dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, this demon wasn't like the last._

 _We weren't very fast in the lab at first, adjusting to each other's work style, but mostly because we were always talking about stupid things and playing around rather than taking the work seriously._

 _"So you actually fell asleep?"_

 _"For only a few minutes!"_

 _"You woke up when the bell rang! You told me!"_

 _"He had to have been most of the way through the lecture at that point."_

 _"He had just begun! Now you're contradicting yourself."_

 _"So was it much more interesting in a demon school?"_

 _"We don't have school. We just learn as we go. Anything mandatory for life is something that we're bound to learn on our own because it's…well, it's essential for life. Why go to a school to learn things and get help, have your hand held all through your childhood only to release you into the world not actually knowing a thing?"_

 _"But it's gotta be hard learning everything from scratch on your own."_

 _"That's the point. You learn the hard way the way the world works. Everything else you learn could just be rumors and such, but there are facts in the world that you can't deny. You have to learn that the world is tough, that there are going to be challenges, and you have to be raised ready to face those challenges as they come, improvise, accept, and adapt. That's what it's like to be raised as a demon."_

 _"So you live your lives based on the concept of survival. It makes me question what we base our ways of life on, in turn."_

 _"According to rumors down in Edom, you angels just live your lives in luxury. You never give thought to the rest of us who have to work hard and suffer to make do. When people beg for your assistance, you never give much, just dangle bait in front of those who are on their knees to keep them submissive."_

 _"I suppose that's what we are, really. We take for granted all that we are, never think that out there others are just as smart, just as powerful, and we seem to think we're definitely the higher species."_

 _"Is that what_ you _think, though?"_

 _"I don't know what to think anymore. Meeting you, talking all of this stuff out - it makes me realize just how arrogant we are. Of course, I always considered myself less arrogant than the rest, but even I took for granted all I had. At…least, until I lost it."_

 _There was a moment of silence as Kandai twirled his pencil in thought. "Say, I've been meaning to ask. You don't have to if you don't want to, but can you show me your wings?"_

 _"My wings? Why?"_

 _"I've never seen angelic wings before. We all assume they're beautiful, but we all debate at how big they are. And if you have more than one set, are they all the same size? Do they ever get in the way and knock into each other when you're flying? Do you have to actually concentrate on beating each wing? Is there a limit to how many sets you can have? If you have a lot, do they get smaller? Do you grow them pair by pair, or do you have an expected maximum number given to you when you're born?"_

 _"Okay, slow down. What's with the curiosity?"_

 _He looked down. "Well…there are rumors that there are some demons that are powerful enough to gain wings. A demon like that…it just started making me question if the wings of a demon worked like the wings of an angel's."_

 _"So…does this mean you've…_ met _a demon with wings? I'd assume that's what got you so curious."_

 _"Yes, I have. And…they didn't understand their wings very well. That's what got me interested in angels, actually."_

 _"Does this person…this demon…happen to be…you?"_

 _Based on the way he tensed up, I got my answer._

 _"Kandai, you have wings?"_

 _"Demonic wings, yeah. But Greater Demons don't just_ get _wings. Wings are inherited, there's no way to predict them. Demons in general just…don't have wings. Lucifer was a fallen angel, so he doesn't count. There are dragon demons, sure, but they're low-ranking, and we're talking about…_ real _wings. If someone else - another demon, I mean - has ever gotten wings before, it's not on record."_

 _"And you don't know what to do with them?"_

 _"The only thing I've learned is how to hide them. I was really little when they first emerged, and I locked myself up for months while I tried to get them under control."_

 _"When wings are first grown, they have to…they tear out of your back. Usually we have preparations that you have to go through to make it easier, but…"_

 _"I thought I had some kind of wound, maybe a friend had played a prank on me or something. I saw two marks on my back at my shoulder blades, but thought little of it. I thought they'd heal. They didn't. I screamed when they emerged, and someone nearby came to find me. They looked terrified, and planned to run and tell the council. I killed them before they could."_

 _"That must've been horrible."_

 _"What? The murder or the wings?"_

 _"Both! What if you were caught and tried for murder?!"_

 _"Oh, the murder was normal for demons. If someone's killed, they're killed. If they're a higher class than you, sure, you could get in trouble, but if they're the same level or lower than you, killing is fair game."_

 _"We'll talk about the injustice of your legal system later. What happened after your wings emerged?"_

 _"I ran and hid. At first, they were really heavy and I couldn't balance very well. They were numb, so I couldn't feel anything on my back. I eventually washed them off in a river since they were covered in gross stuff, but they hurt to move around."_

 _"Most angels go through a course in school to learn how to work their wings."_

 _"Yeah, well I was terrified and clueless. It took me ages to get them under enough control that they weren't jumping around to the beat of my thoughts."_

 _"They'll reflect your emotions no differently than your face."_

 _"And I was constantly scared of what would happen if the demons found out about me and I was taken in."_

 _"Did they find out? Is that why you're here?"_

 _"No. If they'd found out, I would've never left."_

 _"Can I…do you mind if I see them?"_

 _He hesitated a moment before sighing and hopping off his seat to walk back into the living room. I followed cautiously, moving in front of him as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath._

 _Behind him, his wings emerged. They were each twice his height in length - though that was normal for wings - and the feathers were midnight black with a slight blue tint at certain angles. They were large, though that was also normal. He wasn't able to fully expand them as he was restricted by the size of the room, but they were-_

 _"Beautiful…"_

 _Kandai looked up in surprise, before pulling his arms and wings close in embarrassment. "They're demon wings. They're probably nothing compared to your angel wings."_

 _I shook my head. "No, they're…they're unique. I've never seen anything like them. Can I…?"_

 _I couldn't help but reach out to touch one, but he flinched back in surprise._

 _"Sorry! They're sensitive. You haven't used them a lot. You haven't even groomed them."_

 _"Of course I haven't used them. I wouldn't know how, and every moment they're exposed is a moment I might've been dragged away and locked up."_

 _"Well, now you're free. You don't need to fear them."_

 _He looked to the floor and sat down. "Can you…maybe…teach me about them?"_

 _"Uh…sure. For younglings just getting their wings, you learn that they're going to reflect your emotions, they're going to seem to have minds of their own, and you have to learn to groom them regularly, no different than you would a pet. If you want to fly with them, you have to make sure the feathers are in good condition to withstand the wind as well as your weight, and you can waterproof them with."_

 _"Okay, so how do I groom them?"_

 _I moved and sat in front of him. "Well, you have to straighten the feathers first. Yours are a disheveled mess."_

 _"Can you show me how?"_

 _"Uh…it's not exactly a process for someone who's not close to you. Wings are one of the greatest weaknesses of an angel."_

 _"You and I have a mutual agreement that either can do whatever they want to the other. You could cut these things off for all I care."_

 _"No! No…these are…I'd never do something like that. Cutting off wings…that's the worst pain that an angel can face, and I'm sure you're no exception. It's just…grooming wings is an…intimate process."_

 _"I don't care about your angel customs or whatnot. I just wanna learn how to do it myself and you won't ever have to come near them again."_

 _"No, I don't mean that like it's some kind of custom only for married couples or something. I mean that…well, it's…just let me show you."_

 _I reached out and gently ran my fingers through his feathers, working to pull out a couple ones that had already been torn out and repositioning those that were still attached and salvageable._

 _The moment I did, Kandai instantly tensed up and his hands balled into fists as he tried to keep his composure. "Oh…" He choked out._

 _"Yeah. You want me to stop?"_

 _"No, no…Just…just show me…what I need to do…"_

 _"Okay. You have to feel around the wings for loose feathers that have been plucked from the root but are still just stuck in the rest of them. Once they've been taken out of the way, new ones can grow, like teeth, but infinite uses and much faster regeneration. Now, near the base of the wing, here at the end, you'll feel that there's oil the wings naturally produce used for waterproofing the wings. It's like a duck. It's your job to constantly reapply the oil so that the wings stay sleek for both water and the wind when flying. You don't want feathers to go constantly flying, right? And it keeps them looking nice too."_

 _"S-Says the guy w-who's wings must p-practically glow s-since they're w-white."_

 _"Sure, that's how it works for angels, but yours have this blue tint to them, and the black is quite…different. I like them. I think they're amazing now, but once they're properly groomed, I know they'll look-"_

 _I cut myself off before I finished when I realized what was just about to come out of my mouth. Was I seriously about to say 'Sexy?!' I'd never wanted to say that word aloud in my life! I_ wasn't _the kind of guy that ever went into that who romance thing. I had close friends, and it wasn't as though angels were forbidden to love, but it wasn't too common either._

 _I couldn't think of any other word to replace it fast enough and recover, and so I just shut up and tried to think of something to change the subject with._

 _"S-So. How about you try it?"_

 _I pulled my hands away, covered in oil, and he gasped in relief. He took a few deep breaths, trying to get himself under control, as well as pulling his legs up to hide his lap. He reluctantly reached out to touch his wing, but when he made contact, he seemed surprised that he didn't get the same feeling as before._

 _"You won't have any effect on your own wings."_

 _He shrugged and began to search through the wings for loose feathers. "So, why does that happen?"_

 _"Not sure. They're sensitive because they're delicate, but they're beautiful and help you fly. Once you train yourself and your wings up, you'll be able to control the feathers of your wings, harden them at will to make them into semi-decent shields, and even detach the feathers when you swing the wing as a projectile. All are built for self-defense, however. We're not aggressors."_

 _"Unless you find something that threatens you."_

 _"That's not…not how_ I _am, anyway. The other angels have debated whether we act under certain conditions."_

 _His head fell, and his wings drooped. "The demons, they're provoking the angels, you know?"_

 _"What? By making more and more? We figured that out long ago."_

 _"No. By making a certain one that poses the greatest threat yet. That girl I told you about? The little girl who was beaten? She's an experiment that the demons created. I was in on the experiment, I'm a scientist studying angels, but I never met her, only heard reports of what was happening to her. You know the rest after that. I just wanted them to cut her some slack, but they wanted her to become a killing machine by any means necessary, including showing her no mercy. But she's not just any demon. She's the daughter of a mundane woman, injected with a potent dosage of blood from every demon in existence, as well as every angel."_

 _"Angel? How would you get your hands on blood from every-?"_

 _Then, I realization dawned on me. Me. That's how they got it. My experiments, my collection, my samples. That's what that demon who tricked me took. He took all of the blood samples I had from every single angel, years' worth of work and convincing that what I was doing was for a good cause. All of my work put into making a monster against the angels, while I was cast out for it all as well._

 _"One of the other demons tricked an angel into getting the stuff. That demon's memories were erased of the event as 'punishment' when the angels randomly returned him. I guess you guys really are pacifist. Can't even execute a demon who tricked you."_

 _"We don't do executions," I agreed._

 _"Anyway, I'm not sure what that girl will become, but the demons plan for news of her creation to slip to the angels, and they're sure that they're going to take action."_

 _"They're trying to_ make _us into aggressors?"_

 _"Basically. After that, I'm not really sure what they hope to accomplish. All I can really say is they're putting all their efforts into making that girl a monster. I felt enough pity for her when I hadn't met her, but after I was banished from my city for expressing my concerns, I actually met her, and…and she was so kind, so innocent, nothing even close to a monster. And I thought, maybe she didn't_ have _to be one. Maybe she should be able to choose her fate, hopefully learn what it means to be kind. Even though she's been shown nothing but hatred, she's not angry, she's not hateful. I wish I could see her again. I wish I could show her."_

 _"Show her what?"_

 _"That there's more than just being some experiment, some slave. She shouldn't be spiteful, but she shouldn't be so submissive."_

 _"I told you, I wanna help you. Remember our mutual agreement? I'm going to help you. I have no reason to, but I want to. It could mean my destruction, but so be it. I think I'm making some serious progress into the workings of our different species' powers and making a solution."_

 _I plucked a feather from his wing and he flinched. "Hey!"_

 _"Sorry, but a winged demon? How can I resist? The feathers of your wings and your wings themselves are invaluable! Perhaps this could be the key to connecting our energies in an un-hostile manner."_

 _"You think mixing feathers from our wings might produce a result? I have to admit, that might actually be a smart idea."_

 _"Well, I can't promise anything. Quite possibly, it takes more, but I'll get to work on it right away."_

 _I rushed into the other room and pulled out a jar of my own feathers that I'd collected previously, and began working with them. Staring at my own feathers, I realized just how long it had been since_ _I'd even thought of home, missed it. In a way, I still did, but in another, I realized how nice it was to be away, to be living here with Kandai. Now, he was all I really needed. One friend._

 _A friend who didn't betray me._

 _Not yet, anyway._

* * *

 _Kandai screamed as he fell for the eleventh time this evening. I winced as I_ felt _him hit the ground, before rushing over to help him up._

 _"You okay?"_

 _"How do the dragonites make this look so_ easy~?! _" He whined._

 _"Sorry, but I don't know much about training the younglings to fly. I'm not a very good person to ask for tips."_

 _"You're doing fine. At least I've gotten off the ground. That's something."_

 _"Angels fly mostly by controlling the winds around them, and the wings only help with the surface area. They also are used to teleport. Just flap and suddenly you shoot to where you're aiming in a beam of light. I'm not sure if things are exactly the same with you."_

 _"At least I've managed to gain a big burst of wind at take-off, so I shoot up into the air. I just can't sustain it once I'm up there since the ground's so far away that I can't push against it."_

 _"You don't need to use the wind to push off the ground once you're up and away; you need to use it to push up against your wings - in a circular motion when hovering and a kind of wavy lifting pattern under the wings when flying. And you need to be able to keep your wings ridged and firm so you don't fall. They're malleable for the sake of convenience when you need to fold them away, use them for defense, or turn quickly in the air - they're also organic, not like armor or something - but otherwise, you need to keep your initial reactions from your sensitive wings under control. Usually, you take a class to help build up your wings' resistances and keep them still when under pressure."_

 _"Maybe I'll try the different wind techniques. It's just…a little hard when in the air."_

 _"It feels scary at first, I know. But you'll learn to not fear being away from the ground."_

 _"Maybe for an angel it's easy, but demons don't fly."_

 _"You can. You will."_

 _He looked to me, confused. "Why…why would you…?"_

 _He squirmed nervously with his head down, wringing his hands together._

 _"What?" I asked._

 _"Sorry. Demons don't usually…complement each other. Usually, it's taunts that you_ _can't_ _do something that encourage you to work harder to do so. To prove them wrong, to show them you're stronger than they think and that you deserve your place in the hierarchy. If you don't prove you deserve your place, they have the right to lower your status and such. I'm a Greater Demon. I can't ever afford to be shamed in such a way that I'm lowered to the status of a mere lesser demon. The embarrassment and dishonor would be…horrifying."_

 _"Does that mean you're being shamed right now, being banished to this place?"_

 _"No. It's because I'm such an important and respected Greater Demon that I've been sent here to die to an angel rather than be taunted by my fellow demons, walked upon like some low-life where I was once a high and respected member. Being humiliated by another race is better than being disgraced by my own. It's like…if you got murdered-"_

 _"Well this escalated quickly."_

 _"Shut up, it's metaphorical. If you got murdered by some random stranger that you didn't really know, it'd mean a lot less than if it was, say, your best friend who you've known all your life. The closer the relation the more effect their betrayal is."_

 _"Well, we're of opposing species, no?_ _I_ _don't have to be mean to you. If your world works in reverse psychology to mine, I suppose being nice_ _is_ _my way of being mean."_

 _He seemed to bit the inside of his lip. "Sure, but…that doesn't mean I…can't appreciate it."_

 _"Well, anyone can become friends, no matter where they're from. Even if they're enemies, they just need to see each other's perspective."_

 _He blinked in surprise. "We're…friends?"_

 _I rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah. I thought that was implied."_

 _He shrugged. "I guess…I never really thought about it. There isn't such thing as a '_ _friend_ _' for demons. Just those who respect you and those you respect. I know of the word_ _friend_ _, but I don't really understand it. I don't know what friends are."_

 _"Friends are…people you trust more than others. There's not really a way to put it into words. It's different from just allies or people you can get along with. It's a bond. And there's such thing as 'best friends' too, people who are even closer. People willing to share secrets, even entrust their lives to."_

 _He looked to the sky in thought. "People you trust, huh?"_

 _I couldn't quite place why, but I saw a small smile creeping across his face._

* * *

It had been a week.

Alec hadn't visited once, only called a couple times for updates. Shu could feel Magnus's growing concern. He was trying all he could to locate Jace, but neither tracking spells nor potions were able to help.

Shu was getting uncomfortable. Her back was killing her, and eventually, she looked in the mirror to find that there were two lines running down her back. They looked to be scars from some kind of cuts or wounds, but they were far too perfectly straight, too precise for any person unskilled to have placed. And they didn't feel like cuts; they felt more like growing pains. She didn't feel that sting when she moved or laid on her back, but the pain was still numbing and forced her to walk and move very stiffly, wincing occasionally.

"Are you okay?" Charon asked.

"No idea. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong, nothing that my healing powers can find. Painkillers aren't working for me either. Yes, I've been downgraded to trying human solutions, but nothing's working. They _do_ seem to be helping Magnus, however, so the pain is linked to me."

"Magnus is taking painkillers?"

"I slip them into his drinks. He doesn't feel what's happening. If he did, I'm sure he wouldn't be able to move, and he doesn't need worry for me on top of his concern for Alexander. How's that search been going, anyway?"

"Nothing. No mundanes have anything that's useful, and there aren't any more demons on the streets willing to talk. Any that _do_ show up are committing suicide rather than giving us the chance to take memories."

"These people aren't making noise, that's for sure. Jace isn't going to be easy to locate, if it wasn't already obvious. Magnus is worried about Alexander's mental state - I am too, of course - but he refuses to take a break while his brother and parabatai is in danger."

"And your uncle's angel?"

"He doesn't _belong_ to my uncle."

"Whatever. How's that going?"

"I think he's showing signs of recovery. At the very least, his nightmares have dimmed down to normal dreams."

"Memories, in fact. He's dreaming of the past, his past with your uncle. They're a classic lovey-dovey story. Poor thing's been through a lot, though. I still wonder why I've never heard of him before, nor Kandai."

"Maybe the all-powerful memory demon has had _his_ memories tampered with as well."

"Uh, no. People do not simply _mess_ with my memories without me knowing."

Shu giggled, but the action caused her to wince moments after.

"Easy. Is there something I can do to help?"

"Search through my memories. Maybe there's some kind of blank spot where I got these injuries on my back."

He closed his eyes and searched for a moment, before opening them not a few seconds later. "Nothing I can see. They don't look like natural wounds, though. And you're having growing pains, not healing pains."

"I know. I have a couple theories, but…"

"You think you're growing wings."

She nodded. "Another effect of the Raziel thing, perhaps. It doesn't seem to be wearing down or weakening. It's just getting stronger. First my hair and eyes, my increased angelic energy, and now my wings. And now the Demon Queen's presence is basically gone, possibly smothered from all the angelic energy, but she wouldn't be able to be destroyed no matter how much angelic energy I had within me. It's a yin and yang kind of thing. There's no way for the angel side of me to exist without the demon and vice versa. I'm sure I'd be able to survive without the mundane side, but I'd probably go insane. I'm worried about what that might mean. She's either deep and buried within me, or…"

"You think she might've escaped somehow with Raziel kicking her out."

"The angels have always wanted to purge me of my demonic side, somehow 'fix' me and bring me to their realm as though they were showing me some kind of mercy for not wanting to kill me but wanting to recruit me. Raziel was no exception, but he at least was a bit nicer about it. If he possessed me, even by accident, he might've interfered with our stability."

"And that's why all of this is happening. And she had to have been the one to cause the storm, take Jace."

"She took Jace because it would affect Alexander, Magnus, and then me. And it would make Clary really unhappy, so that's another win in that category."

"Doesn't like Clary?"

"Who does?"

"Jace, probably."

"And he's an idiot, so that's solved."

"Luke."

"Father figures have the right, but it's not like he doesn't think Clary's an idiot sometimes."

"Simon?"

"Do I even need to explain?"

"So I see you and her both agree with that hatred of the Fairchild girl. And really, who can blame you? In any case if this darker half of you _is_ out there, free, then how did you not notice her being extracted?"

"Don't know. It could've happened at any time, it could've happened over an extended period and Raziel's possession pushed things over the edge. We'll deal with her when we need to, but for now, we need to focus on the matter at hand. I haven't had wings for millennia. And I've never sustained them since they're only a part of my full form."

"Angels have wings, right? Maybe you can ask Ren'ai for help."

"When he wakes up."

" _If_ he wakes up."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

He shrugged. "Just spelling out the truth."

"The people I love are losing those that _they_ love, slowly but surely, unable to do anything but watch. I don't need to feel anymore useless."

"You're not useless. If I know you, you'll figure something out."

"That's just it. You don't know what I'll be like once I'm fully angelic. Angels follow orders, they don't argue or disobey. They can't be themselves, there isn't a personality within them, not really. I don't think I'll be the same."

"You're still you. Nothing can change that."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

Shu peeked into Magnus's room to see that he was lying on his bed, just staring at the ceiling. She wondered if he noticed the weakening of the soul bond. The 'painkillers' that she'd been giving him weren't painkillers, as in the human remedy, like she'd implied. They were a little magic she'd whipped up to try and weaken the connection between her and Magnus so that he wouldn't know she was in pain, so that he wouldn't have to add that weight onto his already heavy heart.

Alexander was distancing himself, becoming more erratic and panicked. Shu had to concentrate, but she could delve into Magnus's mind and see that something was troubling him.

Magnus had gone to the Institute, but it was chaos there. Alec was ordering people around like a madman, pushing people to limits, asking impossible things. Clary was trying to calm him down, but let's be honest, that girl held near no leverage against an angry Alec. Izzy had a little more luck in at least getting Alec to listen to her and talk to her, but even then, Alec's anger couldn't be quenched.

The two of them had insisted Magnus come and talk to him, but when he did, Alec had snapped at him.

' _Please, Alexander. We're all concerned for Jace here, but you need to calm down. Getting upset won't help find him any faster._ '

' _Oh, and just relaxing while he's out there, possibly being tortured, is gonna help find him faster? No!_ '

' _A_ clear head _is what will help find him faster._ '

' _What will calming down do for me, huh?_ '

' _You think it's not going to help, I understand. I've felt that way before, Shu has felt that way before, but in the end, it_ does _help you. You think that when you've lost the adrenaline rush of your anger that you're going to be worse off, but it's the other way around. You'll feel much better once you take a moment to breathe and let your tension fade. Your friends are worried about you; your family's concerned about you. We all love you, and we all agree that you need to take a break._ '

' _If you love me, then help me find Jace!_ '

' _I'm_ trying _Alexander. Shu and I are working with everything we've got._ '

' _Well maybe you're not trying hard enough! Maybe_ you _don't care about Jace, but he's my parabatai, my brother, and I'll care more about him than I'll_ ever _care about you!_ '

And Magnus hadn't said a word after that.

He knew Alec couldn't mean it, that his rage was clouding his judgment.

But it still hurt.

Because, despite everything he knew and everything that they'd been through, Magnus couldn't help but acknowledge that Jace had known Alec longer, had a connection to him that Magnus could never have.

And it bugged him, the fact that he couldn't dismiss it despite everything telling him to. And he really needed his sister's support on this. He hadn't loved anyone like he'd loved Alec. And he hadn't been on such a terrible roller coaster of emotions, so happy when things were okay, so afraid at every turn that they might not be.

Shu had looked after him since he was 15, not even fully grown yet. She'd seen his worst moments, his best, and had guided him the entire time. She was centuries, even millennia older and wiser, yet you wouldn't guess it based on first impressions alone. Surely, that kind of wisdom would understand how to deal with romantic drama like this.

But Shu didn't know. She couldn't feel the distress, the extreme fear surging through Magnus, the confusion, the desperation. Because she'd weakened the link between them so that he couldn't feel her pain, she couldn't feel his.

And so she gently closed the door on her brother and left him be, unaware of the true magnitude of his feelings.

After all their years together, Magnus expected her to know of his situation and come to him like she always had. She'd always come to him whenever something was up, whenever he felt depressed or confused, and not a word needed to be shared between them. She'd always understood everything with their bond, and they always knew to comfort each other, no sibling rivalry that they usually had, no arguing or conflicts that were mostly for show. They would just turn off their regular routine and help each other when they needed it.

And he continued waiting for her to come in as the night went on.

She never did.


	7. I Don't Want To Fall

**Okay, so I've been watching too much Supernatural, and so there's a little of that logic in play when talking about Ren's angelic side of the family.**

 **Bit of a long one, sorry, but I couldn't stop writing.**

* * *

 _I ran after Kandai._

 _He'd made it further today. He'd managed to sustain himself in the air. Of course, the moment he realized his accomplishment, his excitement caused his concentration to waver and he came crashing down._

 _But I was ready to congratulate him. It was almost as exciting as when_ _I_ _had first managed to hover properly in the air. Maybe it was because I was proud of my teaching skills, but really, it was just me happy for_ him _. He was my friend, after all._

 _I wasn't sure where he'd landed, but I made my best guess and ran through the trees. "Kandai! Hey!"_

 _I pushed through the branches and leaves of the bushes and trees alike, before I finally came out to an open area. My excitement suddenly turned to panic as I slipped and found myself tumbling down a ramp of rock._

 _Rocks went falling down with me as I rustled the loose earth, and despite my efforts, I couldn't get a solid grip. I expected that I'd reach the bottom and be able to stand, dusting myself off and hope that I could get back up, but instead of finding the bottom of some crater, I ended up feeling nothing but open air greeting me._

 _Reaching out with my adrenaline-enhanced speed, I managed to grab the edge of the cliffside that I'd rolled down from, but the rocks weren't stable or fully supported. I tried to carefully pull myself back up, but the rocks shifted and I screamed as they barely held on._

 _Below was a long fall into a canyon. I couldn't see the bottom, though there was another stretch of land a good 50 meters down and 30 meters away, as though there were two continents and this was the large gap left between them. There'd be no way for me to jump to the other side, and though I knew that I wouldn't die from the fall, there'd be no telling how long it would take for me to get back up._

 _I was an angel. I'd never been afraid of heights, afraid of falling._

 _Until I was brought to the court of Heaven on charges of treason. Until I was told my verdict was guilty. Until I was told my punishment was banishment. Until I was sentenced to this place, thrown through a portal to this world as I looked my former best friend in the eye. Until I lost everything._

 _"Kandai! Help me!"_

 _I wasn't afraid to die. But ever since I'd met that demon, I had a life again. I found a reason to keep going. I hadn't thought about missing home in ages. I didn't want to be alone. I didn't want to fall._

 _"Please! Kan! Help!"_

 _I didn't realize I was crying until I tried to look up and saw nothing but a blur. I blinked quickly, scanning the cliff for any sign of Kandai. The rocks began slipping once more and I shouted in panic._

 _"Kandai!"_

 _"Ren?!"_

 _His voice was far away, but close enough to hear my shouts, and my heart jumped. "Over here! Help me, please!"_

 _I heard him running my way. "Ren?! Where are you?! Keep talking to me! I'm coming!"_

 _"Look out! There's a cliff!"_

 _I finally saw him push through the final greenery and kneel at the top of the ramp I'd fallen from. "Ren! Are you okay?"_

 _"Help me!"_

 _"Can't you fly back up?!"_

 _"I can't fly, Kan! I can't!"_

 _"Okay, stay calm! I'll…"_

 _He looked around behind him frantically._

 _"I'll be right back!"_

 _He disappeared out of sight, before returning a few moments later with a pair of…sticks?_

 _He jumped down the ramp before jabbing one of his branches into the loose earth and coming to a slow crawl. He stabbed his second in, using each of them to scale his way down. I would've been extremely impressed at his quick thinking and resource management (not to mention how cool he looked coming to my rescue), but I was more focused on the fact that the earth I was holding onto was very far from the stable part of the rocks and I was going to fall at any moment._

 _"I'm coming," He called. "Just stay calm. Look at me. Look at me! Do_ not _think about the drop. Think about…your experiments. How do you make a…a potion for…a severed limb?"_

 _"Is the limb recoverable?"_

 _"Sure!"_

 _"Well, you'd need to take some samples from the victim, and you'll need to understand how the autonomy of the person works, depending on what species they are. Then, you'll need to take some phoenix ashes or Ditto paste to help rebuilt the ties that were broken."_

 _Before I knew it, he was slowly approaching the ledge where I was hanging from. He slid his foot closer as slowly as he could, trying to keep his one branch dug into a steady hold while reaching out his other hand and branch._

 _"Think you can reach me?"_

 _I braced myself and reached forward, but the rock I was hanging from lurched and I pulled my weight back into place. "No!"_

 _"You're gonna have to try and jump."_

 _"What?!"_

 _"Try and get a foothold and jump to grab my hand. I can't go down any further without risking falling too, but if you can use the falling earth to give yourself a boost, we might be able to meet."_

 _"That's a stupid plan!"_

 _"Got a better one?"_

 _"No, the plan thing is_ your _job! You're the hero rescuing me!"_

 _"And I can't rescue you if you don't work with me."_

 _The rocks were crumbing, the ledge coming down. "Okay, fine!"_

 _I slowly pulled myself up and the rocks began to fall faster. I got a foothold above the ledge and jumped for his hand as the earth below me went down. I felt myself lose contact with the ground and felt weightless, but I didn't have enough forward propulsion._

 _I missed his hand. I smacked my chin against the remaining edge of the cliff and couldn't grab on._

 _I was falling through the air. There was nothing to reach for to stop my descent._

 _I panicked._

 _I had never fallen before. I had never been afraid of open air. And I had never dived without my wings. Not until today._

 _And what I was most afraid of was that I'd never be able to climb back up. I'd lose what little of the life I'd gained back, the small life that I realized I had too late._

 _I wasn't afraid to die._ _I was afraid to live. I was afraid of being alone._

 _And I think, most of all, I was afraid of never seeing Kandai again._

 _It was an irrational fear, as well as an unexpected one. But it was still the only thing I could think of as I fell. What if I couldn't be found once I hit the bottom of the canyon? If he tried following after me, would he be able to survive?_

 _Heck, even I may not survive. Having been away from Heaven for so long, who knows if my aura was strong enough to survive such a drop?_

 _But I couldn't do anything. I was helpless._

 _And then he jumped down after me. His wings fully expanded, and the next thing I knew, he grabbed me. I gripped him tightly without even thinking about it._

 _Was he planning to come down with me? Did he have a plan at all?_

 _I didn't think about things like that, and only focused on feeling him. No matter what happened, he was with me. I just wanted him with me._

 _And then the wind changed. I felt gravity increase as we lurched upwards._

 _He was doing it. He was flying. Not hovering, not jumping with a little assistance -_ flying _._

 _I opened my eyes (when had I closed them again?) to see that he was struggling with both of our weights, but he was pushing against the air as hard as he could. We made it over the cliff, and he flew us as far in as he could before we began to wobble in the air and he barely managed to come to a running landing and lying me down as gently as he could before collapsing next to me, panting hard._

 _"You okay?" He asked._

 _It took me far too long to process that he had said anything, still trembling from the shock of what had just happened. "I-Isn't that m-my line?"_

 _He chuckled. "I'll live. You?"_

 _I could only nod. After a moment, he grabbed me once more, pulling one of my arms over his shoulders before he struggled to his feet, pulling me along._

 _"Shouldn't you…rest a little more?"_

 _"We need to get home first."_

 _It wasn't a long trip before we made it back to the house. BB seemed to have been waiting for us, as he was staring from the couch as we walked in and followed as Kan took me into my bedroom and set me down._

 _"You're cut up pretty badly from the tumble you took, and you're jaw's taken a hit. I'll go get some-"_

 _"No!"_

 _I was gripping his wrist tightly. I wasn't sure completely why, but I knew that I didn't want to be alone right now. I couldn't help but feel like I was still going to be falling the moment he let go. Why was I crying? I was safe. I shouldn't be like this._

 _"Okay," He said gently. "I'm not going anywhere, all right?"_

 _He hesitantly came closer, and wrapped me into his arms. He scooted onto the bed next to me and let me grip him, sobbing and trembling. I shouldn't show such weakness to anyone, angel or demon, ally or enemy. But who cared anymore? This was Kan. Maybe it was our mutual agreement that let me relax with him, or maybe it was just the fact that he was my friend._

 _"Why didn't you fly, angel?" I heard him whisper._

 _I'm not sure whether he meant for me to hear him, but I choked out an answer. "I can't…!"_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"I don't…I don't have wings."_

 _"What?"_

 _"It was me…! I was the angel who was tricked! That's why I'm here! And I can't…when I was banished, they…they cut them off!"_

 _"Your wings?!"_

 _His grip tightened, but I welcomed it and simply nodded through my sobs._

 _"My gods, Ren. How could they…?"_

 _He wrapped his arms around me as if to try and hold me closer, to protect me from my memories even though he couldn't change what happened._

 _"That's why you never showed me yours. That's why you never offered to fly with me while teaching me."_

 _"I'm…sorry."_

 _"Shh. It's okay. I know why you didn't say anything. An angel shouldn't go around telling demons their greatest weaknesses."_

 _"You're not just some…demon I picked up off the street…anymore…you know?"_

 _He chuckled, and I could feel his voice resonate while my head rested at the base of his neck. "I'm honored."_

 _"You should be. I'm a…really special angel, you know? My love does_ not _come cheap."_

 _"Yeah. I knew that from the moment I met you."_

 _His grip began to relax and we just laid there in silence. I never realized how nice it was, just sitting in his embrace. He smelled really nice, too. Had he always smelled like this? Did all demons smell this good? His grip was protective, but not harshly so. Not like_ him _. Not like that first demon at all._

 _"You think you're good?" He asked._

 _"Shh. 'M sleepy."_

 _"Sorry. I'll slip out once you're asleep."_

 _"No. You'a good pillow. Stay."_

 _He chuckled, disturbing my nice and comfy position. "I don't think it'd be right for me to sleep with you."_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"Uh, demon and an angel?"_

 _"No one's judging us, Kan. No such thing as social status or whatnot when there are only two of us in the entire world."_

 _"Yeah, but sleeping with someone requires intimacy, and I'm not sure how that goes for angels, but for demons, it's not easy."_

 _"It's not intimate if you're comforting the wounded. Now shut up and sleep."_

 _I felt his heartbeat increasing at my ear._

 _"Stop it. S'loud."_

 _"Sorry," He whispered._

 _His heartbeat eventually calmed down (I made a mental note to check why he had a heartbeat. I mean, angels didn't have heartbeats. Heck, we didn't have to breathe) and I eventually relaxed until I fell asleep._

* * *

 _When I woke up, Kandai was still there. I nearly panicked at first, remembering that he was gonna leave once I'd fallen asleep, but he stayed._

 _"Hey, angel."_

 _"Hullo," I muttered._

 _I didn't want to get up, but I was at a point where I was too awake to fall back asleep, but too drowsy to want to fully push myself away from the warmth of Kandai along with the blankets that must've gotten there at some point, but I was too tired to think about it._

 _"Good nap?"_

 _"Yup. I was all unconscious and stuff."_

 _He laughed, and with my head at his chest, that woke me up. "I'd hope so."_

 _"You hungry? I'm hungry. Wait, I don't wanna get up. And you're not going anywhere, pillow."_

 _"I'm glad to know I play such an important role in your life."_

 _"You're my best friend/pillow. I'd call that an accomplishment."_

 _"_ Best _friend?"_

 _"We've known each other for months and you're growing on me. Besides, you saved my life. That counts for something, at least."_

 _"So, does becoming a 'Best' friend require some ritual of saving one's life? If so, you angels must not have a lot of best friends."_

 _"Nope. They're jerks."_

 _"Well, didn't you have_ some _best friends before me? Back up with your kind? You angels have friends, right?"_

 _"Sure. And it's not forbidden to fall in love, either. But we don't reproduce the way humans do, so it's not like reproduction requires love between angels anyway. And love isn't easy for angels. They're all work and no play. It's basically just those you know and those you've heard of - maybe those that you don't know, but that's rare with not a lot of new angels being created these days - those you get along with and those you don't get along with, and those you ally with and those you fight. Basic relationships. And yes, we have a hierarchy too. We know when to bow to those above us."_

 _"Tell me about your friends, angel. What was it like to have angel friends?"_

 _"I had plenty of acquaintances and those I got along with, but my_ friends? _Hm. There was_ one _that I called my best friend, and lot that I could consider regular friends."_

 _"Any girlfriends?"_

 _"Yes, plenty of my friends were girls."_

 _"No, that's not - ugh. Okay, languages don't make sense sometimes. Continue."_

 _"Well, I had friends like Hannah, Uriel, Zachariah, Anna, Balthazar, Nadia, Inias, Ion, Hael, Ezekiel, Rebecca, Bartholomew, Adina, Daniel, Ingrid, Malachi, Ambriel, Thaddeus, Lily, Abner, Miriam, Efram, Hozai, Rachel, Asariel, Sophia, Esther, Jonah, Muriel, Benjamin, Duma, Samandriel, Elijah, Josiah, Nathaniel, Azrael, Esper, Conrad, Nithael, Joshua, Hester, Ishim, Ezra, Theo, Mirabel, Constantine, Neil, Akobel, Oren, Jofiel, Tyrus, Castiel, Isaac…Kandai!"_

 _Kan jumped awake from pretending to fall asleep. "What? Sorry, you lost me after Hannah."_

 _I shoved him but laid back against him once more. "Plenty more where that came from. Anyway, I guess you can't really consider them friends if they're your family, considering all of us angels are technically brothers and sisters, however we're the kind of family where yes, you_ are _siblings, but your relationship are more like friendships. My main family is Michael, Lucy, Raphael, Gabriel, Raziel, and Ithuriel. Ithuriel was my best friend."_

 _"What was he like?"_

 _"Nice. I'm the youngest of my immediate siblings, however he helped me through being the silent and invisible younger sibling. He supported me through school before I was a dropout-"_

 _"Wait,_ you _dropped out?"_

 _"To pursue my alchemic carrier! Now shut up! He supported me through that, too, even if he was a bit hesitant about my methods. I was a rebel, but really, I just wanted to be left alone. I was known as the nerd around Heaven, everyone knew me, but it wasn't as though I was some criminal. I was different, and the court really didn't mind so long as I didn't go ruining things for the angels or lead some kind of rebellion. But…when I was thrown here, he didn't do anything. No one did. I was accused of treason because I was tricked by that demon for those samples, and well…here I am."_

 _"And they…you said they cut off…?"_

 _"Yeah. One at a time. Fully conscious. Screaming as loud as I could."_

 _I pulled off my shirt and let my wings show, though there wasn't much to see. After I'd first found my home, I'd checked to see how badly damaged they were. I had them cut off just before I was thrown through the portal that left me here, and so they had yet to be properly tended to when I had first arrived._

 _I had patched the four little stumps that had once been my wings up, each maybe five centimeters tall each. When cutting off wings for some punishment of a crime, there was no real point in making a precision cut that basically made them disappear into my skin, right? No, they were messy, lazily chopped off. But even Gadreel was simply locked up and tortured in Heaven. He didn't have_ this _done to him._

 _Kan gingerly let his fingers dance across the skin around what remained of my wings. "Oh my…they…"_

 _"Yeah. Wings are no different than arms, and having them chopped off is just as fun. Worse, really. To an angel, wings are…everything. They're much more sensitive than arms or legs, and they're…well, getting my junk cut off would've hurt less."_

 _"Uh, did_ not _need that visual, thanks. Way to ruin the moment."_

 _I smiled weakly and shrugged. "It's the truth. For the first few days, I was always haunted by dreams that I was still back home. But more than that, I always imagined that they were still there. Phantom pains, I guess. I feel like not just a part of my physical body is missing, but a part of my soul, who I am, if that makes sense. I'm not sure if angels have souls, not anything like humans, at least, and certainly not like demons, but…I've toyed with the idea that maybe we just have weaker versions or something._

 _"Angels are soldiers, they follow orders, they never change. I take that to mean they have lesser souls within them, less diversity and need for it. Humans, they have varying degrees, and I think that's the reason they were dad's perfect creation. They can go in any direction they want with a little time, they can open their minds and evolve even if it takes some time. Even if many of them fail, it doesn't mean that another of them won't eventually succeed. Nothing is set in stone for them, for better or worse. And demons? They have too much of a soul, they understand too much, and know too many horrors. Ignorance is bliss, some say, and they're right. Humans, they have the ability to see pain and overcome it, but demons are the ones that don't overcome it. They see how cruel the world is, and they give in to it, let it control them, and are considered evil for it. They're not evil, that's not how I see it. I see it as they've just seen too much, they act the way they do because they have too much of a soul inside them and don't know really what to do with it all. So they lash out, create chaos for whatever reasons, because no matter how good you act, there's nothing that says order will ever be perfect, so why even bother in the long run?"_

 _"We demons have_ some _order, you know."_

 _"I know. That's just how things work. All demons embrace that kind of…'live for yourself' thinking, and suddenly, without realizing it, they've created a system. I find it fascinating, the kind of depth that one can see within if they look closely enough."_

 _"You're brilliant, angel."_

 _"Yeah, and my brilliance got me thrown out. I've tried to tell myself how it shouldn't bother me, wondering…if I were a normal angel, what would I be feeling? Would a normal angel feel like I do?"_

 _"You're not normal. And I like you that way."_

 _"Thanks."_

 _"I'm serious. I'd rather be stuck here with you than those upstarts upstairs."_

 _"Hey, that's my family you're talking about."_

 _He smiled and shrugged. "Sorry. But your family is a pile of douche bags."_

 _I opened my mouth to protest, but then closed it and leaned against him once more. "Yeah, it is."_

 _He burst out laughing, and I couldn't help but join in._

 _"So, breakfast?" He asked once he'd regained his ability to breathe._

 _"Sure."_

* * *

 _We didn't speak about the incident after that._

 _Kan sometimes asked to see my wings, what remained of them anyway, and ran his fingers through the small parts, probably imagining what they had looked like before._

 _"You had four?" He asked once._

 _"Yeah. I'm an archangel, so I grew more than one set."_

 _"So, did you have a predestined set or no?"_

 _"I had a predicted easier chance of growing more than one set, but it took my own skill to earn the second set. And yes, I had to grow them same as the first which required some time in pain to let them grow and have my brother Gabe rip them out since he was the only one available at the time. In retrospect, I guess he was the best one, since Mike was the oldest, and not really a family guy, Lucy was doing some time in prison, Raph was the middle child with the whole 'I deal with my issues, you deal with yours' complex, Raziel was off doing dad knows what, and Ithuriel was in school at the time. Gabe was the weirdest of my brothers, you know, besides me, and we got along pretty well. He sucked at helping me through the process though."_

 _"What exactly is the process?"_

 _"Soak yourself in a bath or shower to weaken the skin and then push the wings out far enough so that they tear through the marks that form and then someone else usually assists in pulling them out. Gabe was all like 'Ew! They're covered in gross stuff!' and basically left me to do the entire thing on my own."_

 _Kan snickered. "He sounds fun."_

 _"Lazy weirdo that stays away from all the family drama, but my best brother besides Ithuriel. I hear he went to go disguise as a human after this big family fight, and I would've gone with but stayed because I was afraid of leaving Heaven and…I mean, they suck, but they're my family, right?"_

 _"I guess so. I don't really know what it's like to have a family, but if I can take my guess, I'd assume it's something that sucks but you can't imagine life without it, you know?"_

 _"Yeah. Until I ended up here."_

 _"You're with me. I'm the best family there is."_

 _"Yeah right. You keep stealing my waffles, you disregard the 'No food in the lab' rule every other day, you snore like a dying whale-"_

 _"I do not!"_

 _"And you never listen to_ anything _say, do you?!"_

 _"I listen! You're just stubborn!"_

 _"This is_ my _house, and therefore_ my _rules!"_

 _"I'm a guest and your best friend! I have rights!"_

 _"Not under my roof!"_

 _"You tyrant!"_

 _He grabbed a pillow and threw it my way, hitting me in the face. "Damn straight! And I declare you exiled from the lab!"_

 _He gasped dramatically. "Oh no! What ever shall I do?!"_

 _"And the kitchen."_

 _He tackled me into the mattress. "Evil! No! I will end you! I want my spaghetti!"_

 _I shoved him over and flipped our positions. "You don't get spaghetti if you keep eating it in the lab!"_

 _"Fine, I won't! But you have to sleep on the couch and I get your bed!"_

 _"As if!"_

 _"That thing is uncomfortable, man!"_

 _"You're a demon, deal with it!"_

 _He shoved me and flipped us again. "You're an angel,_ you _deal with it!"_

 _"You wanna sleep in here? Fine! But not without me! I'm not getting kicked to the couch, and there's room for both of us."_

 _"Whoa, at least take me on a date first, honey."_

 _"Fine, but I warn you. I don't do one night stands."_

 _"Neither do I."_

 _"Good."_

 _"Good."_

 _The next thing I knew, I was kissing him, and he was kissing me. And there were sparks, explosions, fire, everything. I needed to feel him against me, and nothing else existed._

 _It lasted an eternity, or maybe just a few seconds, but I knew that we were both out of breath, and when I opened my eyes, I saw he was still extremely close, his eyes dilated and lips a bit bruised._

 _"So, how about that date?"_

 _I chuckled. "Spaghetti?"_

 _"Yep."_

 _I realized I was gripping his shirt, and had been since I pulled him in. I released it gently, and allowed him to pull back. I could sense his reluctance, though I couldn't tell whether it was good or bad. I knew that I definitely wanted more of his kiss, but maybe I was pushing it._

 _I mean, angels weren't used to love, and what the heck did I know about it? Last time I thought I understood love, I got tricked and sent here in disgrace. So maybe I should slow this down. Then again, we had a mutual agreement, right? We agreed that we could hurt each other all we wanted, because neither of us could possibly be hurt or disgraced further than we were._

 _Still, losing him because of my stupid romantics would hurt a lot more than any physical pain inflicted. But wouldn't that be just like a demon? To gain emotional trust and rip it away? More painful than any physical torture? Demons hurt me like that before. I should really learn my lesson._

 _"Hey!"_

 _I turned to get something tossed over my head. I quickly pulled it off to see Kan smirking._

 _"Don't get me wrong, you're cute without a shirt, but not at the dinner table, please."_

 _I realized I had taken off my shirt to show him my wings and had never put it back on. I hoped he couldn't see how hard I was blushing as I slipped my shirt back on and rushed out to the kitchen._

* * *

 _True to his word, Kan ate dinner in the kitchen with me and we had what might have been considered a date if we hadn't done it a million times already. What we_ hadn't _done previously was act so close to each other._

 _Kan looked for any excuse to make physical contact, and I couldn't really argue with any of it. Suddenly, his touch seemed to burn, but in a good way. He took a couple opportunities to kiss me again, each time causing my stomach to twist in knots. But he was also gentle about it, leaving me unsatisfied, but not really scared._

 _Was this how love was_ supposed _to be? Back with…the other one…his kisses left me winded and wanting more, but he was much rougher than Kan. I never realized it until now, but he more dragged me around than loved me. I wasn't ever enough to satisfy him, and I knew that inside, but I always thought it was something that was wrong with me. He teased me, gave me just the slightest bit of hope that maybe if I changed myself that maybe I could fix whatever he didn't like, fix myself._

 _"Something the matter?"_

 _Kan walked into the room carrying a pillow and a blanket._

 _"What are you-?"_

 _"We made an agreement. I get to sleep on your bed if I don't eat food in the lab. I ate dinner in the kitchen tonight, and so begins the contract. The moment I eat in the lab, I don't get to sleep in here. But until then, I get to sleep on this cloud and you can't stop me!"_

 _He flopped onto my bed and pulled his blanket over him._

 _"You know, I have those sheets for a reason."_

 _"But this blanket is comfy~!" He complained, wrapping himself up like a demonic burrito. I can't believe I just said that. Or thought that. Whatever._

 _"Well you can have one of my pillows, at least. I'm gonna go feed BB."_

 _I left and checked the open room where BB stayed. He was free to go at any time that he wanted, and so I'd made a little room for him near the back where the backdoor was. He could leave at any time that he wanted through a little bunny door, which took a little bit of training to teach him how to use._

 _He was sitting expectantly in the middle of the room. I took some of the herbs and veggies from the garden that I'd collected for him and set them down for him. He'd come to expect dinner every night considering how I fed him. He was being dependent on me. I spoil that little bunny._

 _When I returned to my room, Kan had decided that maybe the covers were a good idea. He'd dropped his blanket off the side of the bed and practically disappeared into the sheets of my bed._

 _"Hey."_

 _He popped up and smiled._

 _"Yeah, I'm never leaving this thing," He declared._

 _He flopped back into the soft sheets again and I laughed before hopping onto my side of the bed. I slipped under my side of the covers and snapped the lights off._

 _"Never lay in a bed before?"_

 _"A mattress, maybe. I didn't know angels needed sleep."_

 _"I didn't think demons did. The beds are mostly for a comfortable place to rest even if you aren't sleeping."_

 _"Same for us."_

 _"But this place makes me tired."_

 _"Me too."_

 _He rolled onto his side to face me, and I turned to do the same._

 _"So…" He began. "Is…_ this _a thing?"_

 _"Us?"_

 _He shrugged. "Yeah."_

 _"I don't know," I admitted. "The last time…"_

 _"Last time?"_

 _"Last time I fell in love…I ended up here. Alone. Cast out. And…terrified…abandoned…"_

 _I didn't realize I was crying until I couldn't get out my words anymore. I felt like I was being eaten away from the inside, everything within me hurting. I felt him shuffling closer until I was engulfed in a warm hug. I instantly felt a sort of calm from his presence, and was honestly too tired out to think of why something might go wrong. This was Kan. Anything could go wrong, but I knew it wouldn't._

 _"You met me. You're not alone anymore. You're free to be yourself here."_

 _I squeezed him and then relaxed into his embrace. "Yeah. And you're…amazing."_

 _"But I won't promise I won't be a bed hog."_

 _I snickered and leaned up to kiss him. I felt his hesitance at first, before he moved to deepen it and the next thing I know he's pushing me down and I'm letting him._

* * *

Namir stared at the Herondale boy in confusion. "So…is it done?"

The boy that she'd dragged back from the beach, stabbed through and bleeding out, seemed to have been healed up by Lilith, and she had done some weird ritual or whatever and suddenly the Herondale boy and he were connected or something.

"My boy…" Lilith muttered. "You shall wake soon."

"So, does that mean we're done with this one?" Namir asked.

"The bond has been made, and that one shall be a slave to my boy when he wakes."

"And if one dies, so does the other. Great. This one may actually be worth giving back just to see the distress on their faces when they realize something's wrong and they can't do anything about it. Oh, how the Morgenstern girl will be so distraught! I'm going to enjoy this."

* * *

Ren's eyes snapped open.

Where the hell was he?

He looked down to find that the warmth he was feeling was Kandai lying against him, asleep. Aw, that was adorable.

Wait, seriously, where was he?

He sat up, and Kandai plopped onto the bed, causing him to stir. "What…? Ren! Hey! How you feeling?!"

The angel blinked. "Uh…fine?"

"Good. Great. I'll just-"

He moved to get up, but ended up falling off the side of the bed in his drowsy state. "Kan!"

"I'm good!"

"Are you sure-?"

The demon snatched a contraption from the desk that Ren didn't recognize and put it to his ear. "Susu! He's up! Get over here!"

He tossed it over to the nightstand again and climbed back onto the bed in front of Ren.

"How are you? Dizzy? In pain? Hungry?"

"Confused. And…a little pain, yeah."

"Can you stand?"

He pulled Ren over the side of the bed and to his feet. His legs felt wobbly from lack of use, but he was able to regain his balance while he leaned against Kan.

"What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

"Uh…escaping, lots of demons…a woman shouting at me before I passed out…? Where are we?"

"At the New York Shadowhunters Institute."

Ren blinked. "What?"

"Shadowhunters. You know, half human, half angels?"

"Nephilim?!"

"Yeah, so you already know about them-"

But Ren was already bolting towards the door and rushing out. He took a guess at which way to go and hurried down the halls. He didn't know where or what a New York was, but he did understand that an entire institute of Nephilim had to be the most dangerous thing in existence.

"Ren! Ren, wait!"

He could sense Kan running after him, but other than him, the rest of the place was completely swarming with angelic blood - but half angelic blood.

No, no, no. Ren needed to get out of there. He needed to get Kan out of there.

He grabbed the demon's hand and began to pull him forward down the hall, people giving them glances as they ran. They were already drawing attention, and an alarm would be going off any moment now.

"Is that-?" "He's up!" "Inform the Head!" "Wait!"

But Ren ignored them all and sprinted for an exit. He came out into a room filled with people and computers, but saw a door down a hallway on the other end. He could only hope that led to outside and that it wasn't warded against angels or demons.

"Wait, wait, Ren!"

Kan pulled him to a stop.

"What's wrong?"

"We need to get out of here!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

They had a crowd around them now, most of them looking over with curiosity.

"No time, come on!"

He pulled Kandai off again towards the door, and, seeing his intent, the Nephilim all began to try and stop him.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" "Slow down, bud!"

"Let me go!"

Of course, that only made them grab onto him and pull him back. Kan was restrained as well, though he wasn't fighting as hard. For Nephilim, they were much weaker than Ren had anticipated, and he broke free of their grips rather easily. He shoved the others that were holding Kan away, much to Kan's surprise and confusion, and Ren pushed his way through once more, dragging Kan behind him.

"Hey!"

One of the Nephilim had a sword drawn and was standing between them and the exit. The others were beginning to draw weapons as well, and they were surrounding the two of them.

"Let's all just calm down," One of the guys said. "We're not gonna hurt you."

And they all had weapons drawn and were trying to prevent him from leaving the building. Trying to gain his trust and make him stay willingly for some kind of 'friendship' when he was so close to escaping. Yeah right.

They were all holding seraph blades, powered by the angelic energy in their blood. That gave Ren an idea.

"Kan, get down."

"Wait, Ren, listen-"

"Get down!"

Ren held his hand out and all of the blades in the room, ones being held or not, began to glow brighter, vibrating as they began to overload with angelic energy. They glowed brighter and brighter before they suddenly exploded. Shrapnel of the blades was sent everywhere, and Ren held up a small barrier around himself and Kan before grabbing Kan and sprinting for the exit.

He pushed out the door and found that they were outside, they'd both made it. It was nighttime, but still.

He ran towards the buildings, hurrying as far as he could so that no one could pursue them.

"Ren…Ren, wait up…"

Ren finally stopped to see that Kan was panting, and he walked into an alley before collapsing against the wall.

"Kan, are you okay?"

He shook his head and pulled at a shard of seraph-blade that had imbedded itself in the side of his neck.

"Oh my gods, I'm sorry! I thought I had protected us."

"It's…fine!"

He managed to pull it out and held his hand over the wound.

"Let me help," Ren offered.

He reached his finger out to send a small sum of his power into healing it, but instead, his touch began to burn, causing Kan to shout in pain.

"I'm sorry! Where's your…where's your ring? I'm sorry, I forgot you didn't have it."

"It's fine."

"We need to go get it back. There has to be some way to track down your niece."

"No. No…I got it back from her…but I lost it to…to her dark half. The one who…hurt you."

"We can still-"

"No! If we aggravate her…I might be forced to do something I regret."

"You don't have to do as she says anymore! I'm here, okay? I'm fine. You protected me. You don't have to do anymore."

Ren rested his forehead against Kan's, cupping his face gently. He finally gave into the urge to kiss him, and for the first time in centuries, neither of their lips were cut, dried, or in terrible condition in general. And the moment Ren realized that was the moment he melted against the demon's soft lips and was actually happy and relieved for the first time in what had to be forever.

"Well, isn't this adorable?"

Ren jumped back and turned, but kept a firm grip on Kan. His grip only tightened when he saw it was Namir.

"Aw, aren't you two just the most precious things? I'm going to have fun with you."

She snapped and suddenly they were somewhere else entirely. They were on a rooftop, and Kan was standing a good distance away. And Ren was standing on the edge with the Demon Queen in front of him.

She stepped forward and pushed him back, and Ren screamed, just to be caught by his shirt. "So, little angel, you're afraid of flying, hm?"

"Don't you-!"

She held her hand back and Kan was frozen. "What, darling? Let go?"

She chuckled.

"Well, I'm a bit clumsy, you see. But there shouldn't be a problem, right? I mean, this _is_ an _angel_ we're talking about. I bet he wouldn't even blink if I let him fall twenty stories."

She leaned forward, causing Ren to be pushed further back, and he gripped her wrist tightly.

"But, there's only one way to find out, right?"

And she disappeared. She dropped him.

He was freefalling, and there was nothing he could do about it. For others, they say it's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop. But the sudden stop couldn't kill Ren. He'd survive the impact, one way or another. It was the feeling of weightlessness, the helplessness in the air as gravity took a merciless hold on him that made his heart stop, that made him scream and flail his arms and legs as though he'd get ahold of something eventually.

He tumbled through the air blindly, and though Kan was freed from the spell the moment that Namir disappeared, Ren completely forgot about him and knew only his fear of the fall.

And then, he was caught. He hit something that wasn't the ground. Someone had caught him.

But it wasn't Kandai.

"REN!"

Whoever caught him caught him on the move, and his vertical drop instantly transformed into a horizontal flight path, and in seconds, the person began to gain speed, until the world blurred around them, and Ren got the familiar yet foreign feeling of being turned to light.

And Kandai jumped off the building, making to fly after them, but Ren and his captor turned to light and in an instant, they were gone.


	8. You're Not My Friend

"I need your help. Where _are_ you?"

" _Uh…sleeping._ "

"Well, you up now?"

" _Yep._ "

" _Who's that?_ "

"Is that Charon?"

" _Maybe,_ " Shu said.

"Look, I don't care about your sex life. I love you, but I'm not _that_ close. I need your help with Ren. I called you earlier."

" _Yeah, I see the missed call and the voicemail, but I just got up when I picked up now. What's up?_ "

"He's awake. When he heard about the Shadowhunters he started running like hell. And then he…well, he kinda blew up all the weapons close to him in the Institute and we ran through the city. Then…Namir showed up, took us to the top of this building, and then tossed him off. I was gonna go after him, but then this…I don't know, beam of light caught him and disappeared with him."

" _Okay, fill me in on everything in detail._ "

* * *

When Ren felt himself solidify again moments later, he was tossed to the ground and rolled a good distance before he came to a stop. It had been a long time since he'd traveled like that, and he honestly felt like hurling, if he had had anything in his stomach.

But he held down his dizziness and stood, looking around for the angel that basically just kidnapped him - or angel-napped him, maybe - only to find a face that made all other thoughts disappear except his wrath.

"ITHURIEL!"

He stomped up and shoved the angel as hard as he could, and though a human would've gone flying, Ithuriel was merely pushed a step back before he regained his balance.

"Brother, I come in peace."

"Shut up! You're not my brother! You're not my _friend!_ How dare you come to me at all?! I told you to stay _out_ of my life!"

"I remember, however that was many years ago, and recent events led me to believe-"

"What?! That I'd be desperate enough to come crawling back to you?!"

"That I could come to your aid."

"My _aid?_ The last time an angel came to me, he blew up my home!"

"A home that _I_ vouched for you to keep."

"Thanks, that makes things _so_ much better!"

Ithuriel looked to the side in thought, before his eyes looked back to Ren in confusion. "That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

Ren scoffed and threw his arms up. "You're hopeless!"

"Listen to me. I've managed to convince the court of your innocence, cause them to pity you so that they might understand that you were neglected and so that's why you were tricked and why you continue to look for demonic care. You were singled out and treated badly because you were different, and you wanted to be loved and that's why you were tricked. By throwing you out, all we did was make that worse, and so now you've gone to the demons again. I've convinced them that you're better with us than against us, and that we have a duty to look after our own, and if one goes rogue, it is our duty to understand why and help them, to fix the problem. They're giving me a chance to bring you in, give you another chance and help you recover from the trauma you've gone through."

"You…you think that because I was the youngest archangel and I felt _neglected_ that I love Kandai?!"

"You-"

"No! Don't tell me about how I feel or how I am! I had you, my best friend, and I had Gabe! I was okay with that! I didn't need anymore! I fell in love with…with _him_ because I wanted to feel important, sure. But if you think for a _second_ that's why I love Kan then I will personally kill you! I will smite you with everything I have until you burn!"

"But Ren'ai…you were alone and abandoned, and the demons _purposefully_ dropped him there while you were like that and _made sure_ you fell in love with him while you were vulnerable. The two of you are special, you can sustain yourselves for long periods of time without vessels to host your power, as opposed to appearing in visions for short bursts of time. Not to mention that demon is…he's an abomination."

"What? Like a Nephilim? Oh, did I forget to mention that there's an entire institute of them back in that city?!"

"Those are of Raziel's creation. They are born artificially from a cup he made to transform humans to Nephilim. They are not the deadly creatures born organically from an angel and a human. Those are more unpredictably powerful, but these ones of Raziel's making are much more stable."

"Oh, yeah, that makes total sense."

He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in confusion. "That was sarcasm too?"

Ren grunted in frustration. "Stop changing the subject!"

"But you were the one who…"

"No! Don't just start spouting this nonsense of Kan being some monster or some lie. We both met each other at our weakest. I know things about him that _no one_ does!"

"You don't know _everything_ about him. There are things that he himself doesn't know. He is a monster."

"So I've been told! But guess what? I'm a monster too! You're a monster! Everything in this world is considered a monster because they're different, because they have the potential to go off the rails! But I'm not going to let that happen! I'm going to watch over him, keep him a good person! So whatever the hell it is you're afraid of, how about you just leave him in peace and consider that if you don't provoke him, he won't be a threat to you!"

* * *

" _It sounds like a teleport. An angel. They have the ability to transform into light when flying if they want. Most of the time, teleportation is instant, without occupying the space in between, but if someone had to catch Ren while he was falling, they'd have had to fly the old fashioned way, and slowing down would allow them to be seen._ "

"Yeah. I mean, basically it was like a light appeared out of nowhere, flew straight and right into Ren's falling path before it hit him - grabbed him - and then continued right on its path and disappeared again. Just zip! Gone before I could realize what had happened."

" _The only way an angel could fly like that is if they came down here without a vessel._ "

"Vessel?"

" _Angels have immense power, their very forms enormous, and if they want to leave Heaven for long periods of time - or just want to look good, I guess - they possess a human. I was the ruler of Heaven and the angels for a period of time, so trust me, I would know. If that was an angel, and they pulled a stunt like that to catch Ren, it means that they wouldn't have been able to take a vessel without killing it, and so they won't be around for long._ "

"Where do you think they took Ren?"

" _Best guess? They wouldn't be able to make it far out of the city, being here in their true form. Traveling like they were, the whole light-speed thing, that would also limit their time here. How long ago did this happen?_ "

"I don't know. I don't have a good sense of time. Not very long ago. I called you like, three times before you picked up."

" _Average time it takes for a call is only a minute or two at most. Taking in the time of our call, I'd say this person's not got very long if he wants to stay down here without a vessel. And Ren's been cast out, meaning he's not going to Heaven without being smuggled in. Unless…_ "

"Unless that angel was _ordered_ to bring him in for some reason."

" _Ren's got some notoriety, I suppose. I mean, he's dating_ you _, and an angel and a demon don't mix._ "

"Not to mention the fact that he was tricked by a demon before, and that's what got him cast out in the first place."

" _Really? All I'd heard is that you two eloped and came to the human world._ "

"Sure, but that was _after_ we'd met through both being cast out to the same place, this kind of middle-ground, pocket dimension. How do you think an angel and a demon even _meet_ long enough to get along? We were both punished, him for being tricked by a demon into getting those angel samples for you, and me for…well, for wanting the demons to be nicer to you. Remember when I exploded and took out that man?"

" _Yeah, I was terrified of you._ "

"After that, the demons had had enough of me, and threw me out. I got tossed into the pocket dimension where, coincidentally or not, Ren had been banished to when he had been caught and accused of betraying the angels. In reality, some demon had tricked him and stole some of his research without him knowing - research and samples used to create you. Ren and I came to a mutual agreement that we both couldn't really fall any lower, and so we'd live with each other, fully allowing the other to betray us whenever they wanted. But…you know. He was as broken as I was, and he was honestly kinda cute. With nothing left to lose, we confessed stuff to each other, and we got close. I told him about you, and he helped me get back to you."

" _So, you mean to tell me you fell in love with him within the span of, like, a week?_ "

"Time in that place was different then time in Edom. For me, I was gone - with him - for over a year. He actually gave me the flower that I gave you."

" _Gave me a secondhand gift? Oh, now I just feel offended._ "

"Sorry."

" _I'm kidding. If anything, that's adorable. We'll find him, Kan. Locating a surge of angelic energy shouldn't be too hard, especially for me._ "

He sighed in relief. "Thank you."

" _No problem. You…you helped me when I thought there was no one. You showed me there was such thing as good amongst all the bad. I wanna see you happy. I can never repay you for all you did. But I_ can _do this._ "

"If you wanna repay me, how about you take that evil half of you and shove it in her face. I hate her, but I also understand her. She's the result of all that pain you've ever gone through, all that darkness, rage, and sadistic evil was inside you before. Now it's just been freed to do as it wants. You show her who's boss."

" _I plan to._ "

"Good. Call me if you find anything."

" _I will. Shouldn't be too long. And Kandai?_ "

"Hm?"

" _You're family. You're my dad. You're my uncle. I don't care what you are, but you're family. I don't care what Namir says to you or does to you. I love you._ "

"Love you too, Flower."

He heard a click as the phone call ended.

* * *

"If I don't know everything about him, then I will _learn_."

"He doesn't know what's inside him, he doesn't know how to control it."

"He _will_. Because I know him, and I know that he's not anymore of a monster than you. No, he's _better_ than you! You betrayed me, Ithuriel! You wanna take me away from him? Well, you're the reason I met him in the first place. I suppose I should thank you in that regard. But I won't."

He opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated, trying to find the words. "I did what I did…I never wanted to hurt you, Ren'ai."

"Oh, you didn't want to _hurt_ me? Well what did you _think_ would happen if you accused me of traitorous acts against Heaven?!"

"I just wanted to stop the demon from doing what it was doing, tricking you! What was happening was threatening Heaven! I couldn't just sit back and watch! I thought they'd…I thought you wouldn't be blamed, that they'd understand!"

"I was already the freak of Heaven, and most of them already wanted me cast out or even _killed!_ And you thought they'd _understand?!_ "

"They delved into your memories, something that couldn't deny your innocence!"

"They were biased against me! You really thought that they'd see _reason?!_ The only person who could _possibly_ make the overruling and _righteous_ call was dad! But he's not here! He wasn't there! Even Gabriel begged for the others to see reason before he was forcefully silenced, but _you?_ No, you didn't open your mouth once. You didn't speak up for me. You didn't even show a _hint_ of pity or mercy when _YOU! CUT! OFF! MY! WINGS!_ "

To that, he didn't have a comeback. "I…I…I didn't…I didn't _want_ …"

"What? You didn't _want_ to?"

"Ren'ai, they _made_ me…"

Ren shook his head and scoffed. "No one _makes_ us do anything. If you had stopped, even if you'd made someone _else_ do it, at least I would've known you cared at _all_ about me."

"I…I _do_ care about you. I've regretted-"

"Save your apologies for someone who cares."

"Ren-"

But he was cut off as he began to glow brightly, looking down to his arms as his form began to destabilize. He opened his mouth to shout something, but the light expanded and he exploded into energy, Ren blocking his eyes as Ithuriel disappeared.

Ren had been away from Heaven for a long time, but even he knew that it would be a while before Ithuriel could return, or even gain the energy to possess a vessel, and so he was free of him for a while.

Looking around, Ren was in some kind of open field, some rocks lined up a small distance away. It looked as though the tall buildings that were the city that he'd been in were within sight at the end of the large grass field.

Ren wasn't excited about the prospect of going near the city where the Nephilim resided, but Kan was probably looking for him there. Maybe if he got up onto one of the higher buildings, Kan would be able to see him while he was flying by.

With no other plan in mind - other than staying where he was, though he didn't want Ithuriel coming back for him - he set off towards the city once more.

* * *

 _I rolled off of Kan and out of bed._

 _It had been months since we'd first kissed and…yeah. I still couldn't believe this was my life. Sure, things had been crappy surrounding how I'd_ gotten _here, but now that I was here, things were too good to be true._

 _I jumped in the shower and washed off before getting changed. Kan was next, taking his quick shower while I made the heavenly creation called pancakes. Apparently, Kan had never had them before he'd come here, and so he loved them. Then again, he loved_ all _of the food that I made him._

 _In turn, the food that he usually made me was exotic and_ mostly _safe for angels to eat. Apparently, Edom was just as advanced as Heaven, and even if they were demons, it wasn't as though they were uncivilized._

 _When Kan walked into the kitchen, he plopped down in the seat that he'd deemed his. "Yea, pancakes!"_

 _"_ _You're such a child sometimes."_

 _"_ _Excuse me?_ Sometimes? _"_

 _I couldn't help but giggle as he took a pancake and practically inhaled the thing._

 _"_ _So," He said with his mouth full. "How's project H.O. going?"_

 _I pulled over a beaker of liquid that looked like liquor. "It's…going. The properties of Holy Oil that contain angelic power are very interesting. It seems that it's made to react with our angelic powers, like a magnet repelling another magnet of the same charge. Of course, it only activates when set ablaze, given the energy to fire up its properties. Truly, the biggest mystery is where it comes from en masse."_

 _"_ _And can you figure out why those demonic symbols have the ability to trap us? That's_ always _bugged me! I mean, why is it that the moment I step within it, I can't move? It's just a painting! Seriously?"_

 _"_ _They channel certain energies that contain your demonic properties. Easy. Again with the magnet thing. The symbol sends off a demonic aura, one that traps you rather than repels you."_

 _"_ _Oh, that is just evil. Who the hell came up with that, anyway?"_

 _"_ _I'm an alchemist, not a historian. Figure it out on your own. And swallow before you speak."_

 _"_ _Whatever."_

 _But he swallowed anyway._

 _We continued doing our stupid talk of the morning - something you think would eventually get old, but so far, it's still amusing. I couldn't possibly have a better life. Being away from Heaven and the other angels…it's refreshing. And with Kan here, what else could I possibly want?_

 _And, like all the things I love, it was taken the moment I realized how much I loved it._

 _"_ _Here you go. A ring that can transfer angelic power to demonic. Allows me to use my power to heal you, and it is the only one of its kind. I made this one to do the opposite, transfer demonic energy to angelic."_

 _"_ _Heaven is missing out on your skills, man. But perhaps that's a good thing. You're_ all _mine. They would_ waste _your potential, you know? I mean, they threw you here, didn't they? They don't appreciate you."_

 _I passed over the ring to him. "Does it fit?"_

 _He tried slipping it onto his index finger, but it got stuck at his second knuckle about halfway down. He pulled it off again and moved it to his third finger, as his middle and index were relatively the same size, and it slipped on nicely._

 _He held out his hand and showed off the ring. "Perfect. And, it_ does _look very nice, if I do say so myself."_

 _I slipped my ring onto my third finger, and he chuckled. "What?"_

 _"_ _I think humans consider that a proper proposal."_

 _"_ _A proposal of what kind?"_

 _"_ _A proposal of the marriage kind."_

 _"_ _What's that?"_

 _He rolled his eyes. "You made a pair of freaking rings that can merge two types of species that are practically_ made _to kill each other…and you have no idea what marriage is."_

 _"_ _I told you, I'm a drop out. Now spill."_

 _He sighed. "It's a kind of union or whatnot that binds two people's families. Usually, it happens out of love, but some humans consider it nothing but a means of binding families for survival and proper offspring. Demons don't really do it, or at least, they don't make a big deal about it. I assume angels don't either, considering you guys are basically one big family."_

 _"_ _Yes."_

 _"_ _And something like marriage between an angel and a demon would just be_ scandalous _."_

 _"_ _Oh. Well then, perhaps we shouldn't-"_

 _"_ _Since when do we give a crap about what others think? If I cared enough about your kind being the opposite of mine and all those stupid customs and rules, I would've bolted for the door and never come back at the first opportunity! I_ want _to marry you, idiot!"_

 _"_ _Does this binding…how does it work?"_

 _"_ _Well, for humans it's just a bit of legal stuff and a pair of rings, but for higher beings or other certain creatures, it's a very special and magically binding thing. It's basically something where you promise to forever be a part of someone's life, and have them forever be a part of yours. It binds you with a bond as strong as, if not stronger than, siblings. You choose someone to marry, you choose someone to love forever. Marriage is the contract of sorts that keeps you together. Of course, then there's divorce, but one step at a time."_

 _"_ _So…I have to choose a partner that I would spend the rest of my eternal existence with?"_

 _He shrugged. "Yeah, basically."_

 _I leaned forward and grabbed his shirt, pulling him to kiss him from across the table. It might have been a bit of an uncomfortable position, but he didn't seem to be complaining._

 _"_ _Well, I'd be very happy to marry you."_

 _He chuckled. "Well, it's not like you were gonna spend eternity with anybody else. Not like you really have many options."_

 _"_ _I could kick you out at any moment, mister. And BB is good company too. And_ he _doesn't snore."_

 _"_ _I do_ not _snore!"_

 _"_ _You're unconscious at the time, so how would you know?"_

 _"_ _I just do!"_

 _"_ _Whatever."_

 _"_ _You are the_ worst _."_

 _"_ _And you get to marry me and be stuck with me forever!"_

 _"_ _Lucky me."_

 _I looked around, reaching over and grabbing a flower from one of the gardens that we had growing in the lab._

 _"_ _Here. Accept this as a token of my flavor."_

 _He giggled. "I think you mean a token of your_ favor _."_

 _"_ _Whatever. I still don't get what that means."_

 _He rolled his eyes and still took the blue flower. "I love it. I love_ you _."_

 _"_ _Obviously."_

 _"_ _Shut up and kiss me, dork."_

 _"_ _Rude."_

 _But I kissed him anyway._

* * *

 _I had finally managed to open a portal. It had taken us countless days (we were fooling around most of the days, but we were still working) and finally, I had opened the portal to Edom._

 _"_ _I can't go through," I told Kan._

 _"_ _What? Why? Your ring thingy protects you from demonic stuff, right?"_

 _"_ _This is_ Edom _we're talking about. The ring is new, it hasn't had a lot of exposure to demonic presence, and it would be overwhelmed by an entire city of demons. This is the first of its kind! You can't expect it to be foolproof yet, and until we've broken it in and gotten it out of beta, I'm not gonna risk becoming an angelic barbeque. But you can go there. I'm not sure how much time has passed back in Edom, but I'm sure that it's not the same as here."_

 _"_ _So I could've been gone for much longer than just the year or so that I've been here?"_

 _"_ _Or you could've been gone for a fraction of the time. Who knows? But you need to go see that little girl, hope that she hasn't given up on you. If a lot of time's passed, then see if she's grown into a young woman, but make sure you come back to me, okay? I'll leave the portal open. Of course, if you wanted to leave me and never come back…well, now's your chance."_

 _He shook his head firmly. "No. I'd never do that. I…I love that little girl, but…I love you more."_

 _Something within me clenched in what I could only assume was embarrassment or flattery. "I…thanks."_

 _He nodded and rubbed his hands together. "Right, let's do this thing. And Ren?"_

 _"_ _Yeah?"_

 _"_ _Thank you. If not for you…I'd probably be dead, or alone, or…and I would've never gotten the chance to see her again."_

 _"_ _You're my friend. And my fiancé, which is a weird word. But it means you're close to me. So…yeah. Of course."_

 _He surged forward and grabbed me in a tight hug, before taking a deep breath and stepping through._

 _He found himself in the fields of wheat around the little girl's farm. He inched his way through the tall grain, remembering what happened last time he had been there. He'd found a man that was spying on Susu, waiting to punish her should she leave the farm. She had tried to leave, wanting to go and visit Kandai, and so he confronted the child. That's when Kandai had showed up and gotten angry._

 _And in his killing of the man, he'd scared off the little girl. Great. How was he going to explain to her what happened? Was she afraid of him now?_

 _He made it to the farm, just barely poking his head out of the wall of wheat. She was still the same as when he'd left her, so no major amount of time must've passed._

 _He sighed. Here goes nothing._

 _"Shu."_

 _She jumped and fell to the ground, backing away._

 _"Hey, no, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm sorry for what happened. I was afraid that man was going to hurt you, so I scared him off."_

 _"Y-You hurt him instead?"_

 _He hesitated, before sighing. "Yes, I hurt him a little. But just to make sure he didn't come back to hurt you ever again."_

 _She looked over him, before she heard her mother's footsteps and jumped to her feet. "She comes. Hide!"_

 _She pushed Kandai into the wheat field once more, waiting until her mother's footsteps had receded before she relaxed._

 _"I apologize for my actions previous that had scared you off," Kandai said. "Perhaps we could begin again."_

 _What could help convince her? Wait, his flower! She would like that! He reached to his jacket's coat pocket and pulling out a flower with blue petals that almost seemed to glow._

 _"Accept a token of my apology?"_

 _She looked at the object in his hand curiously. She didn't seem afraid of it, more interested. It had some kind of angelic touch to it, something to be expected from Ren, really. She looked to Kandai, who she saw was praying for her forgiveness._

 _He held his breath as she looked back and forth between him and the flower, before she rested her hand gently on his, accepting the plant._

 _"Yes," She said. "Perhaps we could begin again."_

* * *

 _After that, Kan made many journeys to visit the girl - who he called Susu. I entertained myself by playing with my experiments in the lab, maybe hoping to open a portal to somewhere else, but I never realized how important Kan was to my life until he was gone. I mean, I knew he was important, but it was just so quiet without him._

 _I missed his presence, whether we were speaking or not. But I did look forward to when he came home with a story about what they did, him gushing about his little girl like a proud parent. And I was happy for him, I was. I could tell he was worried about neglecting me, but I didn't blame him for wanting to look after a child._

 _And I didn't even blame him when he forgot all about us being engaged._

 _I missed the times when I had him all to myself, but that would be selfish of me to think only about my own needs. So I smiled to him as hard as I could. I tried my best to laugh at every small detail of his stories that I understood, sometimes at things that I didn't._

 _Life was okay. And then it blew up in my face._

 _Then, the angels appeared around high sun (what one might call noon). The building first began to rumble and shake, a heavenly aura taking over the place, before, in a flash of light, three new people were standing in my lab._

 _"_ _What the Edom?!" Kan shouted._

 _"_ _Raphael?" I asked. "What are you…?"_

 _"_ _Conspiring with a heathen such as this once more. Really, little brother. And I thought you couldn't fall any lower."_

 _"_ _I am no longer in the jurisdiction of Heaven! Why are you here?!"_

 _"_ _You are not who we're here for, Ren'ai. You just happen to be in the way."_

 _Raph threw his hand forward and Kan was thrown into the bookcase where all of our journals were being kept. The shelf went tumbling, along with all of the journals and books, and he was pressed up against the wall by Raphael's power, and strained as he was pushed flat and was being crushed._

 _"_ _Stop it! He hasn't done anything!"_

 _"_ _It matters not. His very existence is a threat."_

 _"_ _Wha…? Stop it! Stop it!"_

 _I moved to help him, but the angel to Raphael's left, Ezra, waved his hand and I was thrown into the shelves containing a good deal of my live experiments, dumping many chemicals on me that weren't very good to mix._

 _"_ _You shouldn't have done that…" I muttered as some of the chemicals began to bubble and burn._

 _Kan was looking to me in panic, but Raphael wasn't paying attention to me and Ezra was panicking on what had just happened. I reached over and grabbed an emergency lighter - yes I have an emergency lighter in my lab, sue me - and threw it to the Holy Oil that I'd been messing with._

 _It had spilled out across the room, and when it lit, the fire started spread around the room to the plants, to my experiments, and to me. Everything turned white and exploded, and I knew that my essence was being atomized in the blast, but I managed to pull my angelic energy back together and reform my body._

 _What did the experience feel like? I don't know. How do_ you _feel after every cell in your body is blown apart at an atomic level? I barely managed to muster the consciousness and strength to magnetize my angelic power back together, and when I did, I was extremely drained and was ready to pass out._

 _But I saw Kan, lying in the rubble of what had been my house, and he was much worse off than I was. I rushed over to him, pulling him into my arms._

 _"_ _Kan? Kan!"_

 _He was burnt all across his front side, with multiple cuts, but he was breathing. Perhaps that was a good or a bad thing - as I'd learned that he only breathed when he was weak enough to need to breathe in energy from around him, or he was extremely nervous and/or embarrassed. Basically, it was a survival thing._

 _I already felt like my brains had turned to jelly thanks to blowing myself up and reforming, but I threw my energy into healing him with all I had. He hummed with my energy as his burns began to disappear and his cuts sealed themselves, and when he groaned and opened his eyes, he coughed, but he was okay, looking up and grabbing my arm._

 _"_ _Ren. Ren, stop! You're gonna kill yourself!"_

 _I really had no choice as I stopped the healing process and collapsed onto him. He wasn't at full strength, by any means, but he was okay. Even with how crappy I felt, that knowledge allowed me to relax against him._

 _I heard him shouting, I felt him picking me up and shuffling before there was a whoosh and he pulled me through some portal - I know it was a portal because my head spun for a moment - and then I lost consciousness and knew nothing after that._

* * *

 _When I came to again, I saw that I was staring up at a roof, meaning I was inside somewhere. I sat up and looked around, finding Kan sleeping next to me. He looked like he had just recently passed out, probably staying up and waiting for me to wake up like the worry-wart he was._

 _I shuffled closer to him and closed my eyes again, not wanting to wake him and needing more rest anyway. I wasn't sure where we were, but we certainly weren't still in the same dimension that the two of us had been living in._

 _We were somewhere new._

 _When I next woke up, Kan was already up as well._

 _"_ _Hey, how you doing?" He asked gently._

 _"_ _Fine. Ish. I'm hungry and I have a hangover. At least, I_ think _this is what a hangover feels like. I've never gotten drunk before."_

 _"_ _Can angels even_ get _drunk?"_

 _"_ _If we take a vessel and lower our powers so that the alcohol can take effect, yes."_

 _"_ _Well, I got some food. It was a creature I'd never seen before, but it tastes good."_

 _He passed me some meat on a stick that he'd been cooking over a makeshift fire, and I wondered just what it was that he had hunted and killed. I took a bite and shrugged. It was pretty good._

 _"_ _So where are we?"_

 _"_ _After you blew up the place and healed me, I took one of the experiments that you'd been working on - that portal that could take us somewhere other than Edom - and activated it. I just jumped through blindly, really, but it closed behind us and the angels haven't been able to find us. Yet. There was a large house thing, and I found there was no one in here, so I brought you in here to rest. The place seems abandoned, but it must mean that there are others out there in this world. There's a forest outside that I went around in to hunt. Nearly got lost, but our rings seem to have the ability to allow me to track you. I also got the wood to make a fire, and used a little energy to get a spark."_

 _I smiled. "You're awesome, love."_

 _"_ _I know."_

 _"_ _Shut up."_

 _He chuckled. "You just regain your strength, first, and we can go scout out the world. See if there's anyone to avoid. I'm sorry you lost your lab."_

 _I shrugged. "Well…"_

 _"_ _You didn't."_

 _"_ _I work in a lab where things can blow up all the time. Of_ course _I have a way to restore it all and summon it here. Little magic and alchemy and boom."_

 _I pulled a small gem attached to a necklace out from under my shirt._

 _"_ _So_ that's _what that thing was!" Kan exclaimed. "Ren, you're amazing!"_

 _"_ _I know."_

 _"_ _Oh, shut up!"_

 _I laughed. "All is not lost, Kan. We can go back, but if the angels can get there, it's probably best to stay away in case they track us back down to there. Luckily, our home is mobile now."_

 _"_ _So we keep on the run from your family?"_

 _"_ _That's the plan."_

 _"_ _For the rest of our lives?"_

 _"_ _Basically. I don't know what they have against you. Raph said he wasn't there for me, that I was just in the way, and that you were some kind of threat."_

 _"_ _I don't know what he meant. I mean, I'm the most peaceful demon out there."_

 _"_ _I know what kind of person you are, and I know that you're not a threat. But I also know my family, and they won't listen to reason. But I won't let them touch you."_

 _"_ _I hate being on the run…"_

 _"_ _Me too. But it shouldn't be too hard. Our rings should hide us from them, and we won't have to move too often. They're not omnipotent. If we just hide ourselves well enough, they'll be forced to track us the old fashioned way. The painfully long way."_

 _"_ _Is it bad that I feel happy at the prospect of their suffering?"_

 _"_ _No. I've been dreaming of it for most of my life."_

 _"_ _Well, let's go be fugitives together."_

 _I smiled. "Let's."_


	9. Fear the Nephilim

**Lots of rambling as a result of my skills in moving forward the plot. You have been warned.**

* * *

" _I've located a major surge in angelic energy. It's just outside the city. It means that the angel's been forced to go back to Heaven. He won't be able to come back for a while._ "

"But the question remains of whether he took Ren with him or not."

" _I'm not really in proper condition to be out and about, so Charon will have to help you._ "

"Why? What's wrong?"

" _Just a little issue…_ "

"With…?"

" _We predict that it's wings._ "

"Oh, good. I thought you were pregnant. Wait, wings? And you didn't think to tell me this sooner?"

" _I told you about the whole Raziel thing affecting me and making me more angelic. This is a recent development, and you were tied up worrying about your boyfriend._ "

"How far are you into the process?"

" _You mean how painful is it to grow an extra set of limbs? Pretty. I've got lines on my back and major growing pains. I can barely move at this point._ "

"Is your brother…Mag-something, that you were bonded to - how's he doing?"

" _It's Magnus, and he's fine. I weakened our connection so that he can't feel it. He's got enough on his plate to deal with without having to worry about me._ "

"You'd think he'd be able to notice something like that. I mean, the way you described your bond, I'd assume that he'd be so used to it that he'd notice if it was missing."

" _Like I said, he's tied up right now. Anyway, I'm sending you a map of the city and the location of the power surge. You can go and check it out. I'm sending Charon out to search the city for Ren as well - and by Charon, I mean mostly his minions. Apparently, they're everywhere._ "

" _Yup,_ " Charon called from the background. " _If your angel's anywhere out there, we'll find him._ "

"Thanks again."

" _No problem,_ " Shu said. " _Not only is Ren important to you, but with this angel appearing…I worry. With his unique story, background and current, along with the fact that Namir somehow got ahold of you back while she was in charge the first time as the Demon Queen - without me remembering once I'd defected, mind you - all brings into question how important Ren really is. I have a feeling that he needs protection, and we need to find him soon._ "

"You think the Shadowhunters are gonna take him in? He seemed pretty scared of them when he heard they were Nephilim - half angel, half human."

" _The Clave is a group of sons of bitches, and I have no doubt that they're going to try. In the end, though, they won't be able to force Ren's hand. They're going to have to try and convince him through kindness, and if that doesn't work…_ "

"They're going to do a hostage situation."

" _And considering he's dating a demon, that's not gonna be too hard to pull off. I may have lost my darkness to Namir, but even I understand that's the easiest way to mess with someone, mess with Ren in particular. Actually, 'mess with' is a light term. It's more like mentally torture._ "

"So we find him quick and then what? Hide him?"

" _Namir found you last time, and that's how you two ended up in her care for the past centuries. I have no doubt that she's going to make this hard on us, if not impossible. In the end, it's really up to Ren what we do. You talk to him, tell him the options left. If we can find a way to hide you guys in another pocket dimension or something - this time where no angels, demons, or even I could get to once the portal's closed - then that might be the best option. As long as Namir and I are split, nowhere is safe from her._ "

"I understand. I'll call you once I've found him and meet you at your apartment."

" _Right. Good luck._ "

"Bye."

He clicked the red button to end the call before looking to find that he'd gotten a link sent to him showing a map of the city and his current location, along with where the power surge had come from. He flew his way over the city, following the map. It had been a long time since he'd flown, but his wings had been completely healed up, and flying was like riding a bike - once you learned, it was really impossible to forget how. He was a bit wobbly at first, but it didn't take much for him to get back into the groove.

He hoped that the people below didn't take too much notice in him, but he _was_ flying low and close to the rooftops to be close enough to the ground that he could hopefully notice Ren if he was walking back into the city to look for Kan. Considering Ren was wearing all white - because he was an angel and let's be honest, he looked good in white - Kan predicted that he wouldn't be too hard to spot in the mess of colorful yet dull humans.

As he was flying, he passed a hotel. It took Kan a moment to process, but when he did, he stopped in his flight path and turned back to realize that Ren was bouncing up and down on a balcony, waving his arms and shouting things that got caught in the wind.

Kan was quick to turn around and zip over as fast as he could, coming to a running landing as he tackled Ren in a tight hug that would've crushed anyone else.

"Ren! Gods, I thought I'd lost you! Are you okay?! Did that thing hurt you?! How did you get on this balcony?!"

"I'm fine, Kan. He didn't hurt me."

"Shu said it was an angel, and considering our previous encounters, I thought…"

"No, it…it was Ithuriel."

"You're old best friend? The one who…?"

Ren nodded grimly. "Yeah."

"What did that bastard want?"

Ren scoffed. "Forgiveness or something. He said he had convinced the angels to let me back into Heaven."

Kan hesitated. "And you…was it true?"

"Only if I was okay with saying that I was somehow messed up for loving you. He spouted all this nonsense about how I was neglected and so that's why I keep going to demons for love. Sure that's how it happened with…with the first guy, but that's _not_ why I love you! It infuriates me to no end that he would even _dare_ say something like that."

"But, Ren…I mean…he was just looking out for you. All he wanted was for you to get back into Heaven, and he just said what he believed to be true."

"Are you…are you _defending_ him?!"

"I'm saying that…if you have a chance to go back home…he was just trying to help you."

Ren scoffed and threw his arms up. "I don't _ever_ want to go back home! I told you that I'd _never_ go back, let alone abandon _you_ in the process."

"Ren, you went through _centuries_ of suffering and I…it's not going to get any better! There are people out there that want to hurt you or abuse you, and they aren't even the angels! And it's _never_ going to end! We can keep running and running, but Namir will eventually catch up to us, or the demons will capture you to use against me or vice versa with the angels or the Shadowhunters! It's never going to end! A-And if you have the chance to escape all this, then…"

"All this will end with me, because I am _not_ letting that happen. I'm never leaving you, and that is _that!_ I know you want me safe or something, but I'd rather be in constant danger and _with_ you than safe _without_ you! And if you think that being with the angels is going to end _anything_ , then you're an idiot, because with them, they'll just abuse my abilities for the rest of our eternal existence, and they'd never let me go near you again. I'd be _miserable_ , and I'd take an eternity with the Demon Queen over an eternity with my family any day! Because at least during those centuries, I was with you."

Kan had no more argument left in him. He didn't want to have an argument in the first place, only trying to give the benefit of the doubt to Ithuriel, to try and keep the hate out of his angel. Hate didn't look good on him. And all he wanted was to keep Ren safe. But it was his choice. And Kan was admittedly taken off guard at Ren's statement. How was he supposed to compete with that? What was he supposed to say?

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…look, we should get you out of the open. How did you get up here, anyway? Doesn't this room belong to someone?"

He sighed, the energy draining out of him. "I don't know. I just took the stairs and picked a random room."

"But how did you get in?"

"I melted the lock open. The roof was already full of people doing stuff, so a balcony was the best option if I wanted you to notice me."

"Well, we should head back to Shu's apartment. We need to figure out some way to protect you."

"Okay. I hope you know the way."

"Yep."

Kan then grabbed Ren around the waist before teleporting them with his wings. It had been a long time since Ren had traveled that way too, and after being turned to light as well, he was ready to pass out again. Kan realized this, helping set Ren down on the couch and allowing him to relax.

He was going to head to Shu's room, when he heard shouting and saw as Magnus stomped out angrily, waving his hand as his magic activated and tossed a tea set across the room into the wall and shattering it. Magnus disappearing into his room, and Kan saw as Shu sighed at her door and slammed it shut as well.

"What the heck?"

* * *

When Magnus pulled himself out of bed, he got breakfast at a lazy pace. He hadn't seen Shu for a good deal of time, and kept expecting her to come and see him. He was really at a loss of what to do, as he wasn't used to her ignoring him - especially in his time of need. Either she was purposely avoiding him, or there was something bad that was taking her attention and she wasn't even in the apartment.

It was then that he realized he couldn't tell.

He concentrated as hard as he could, and he still felt the soul bond. If it had broken, he definitely would've noticed, no matter what his current state of mind was. As he tried digging deeper into the bond, he suddenly started to feel an extreme pain surging through his torso, although it was also numbing, not stinging like some kind of wound.

The pain nearly made him pass out, and he pulled back out of the bond, breathing hard and trying to recompose himself. Was that what Shu was feeling at the moment? How had he not noticed that kind of pain before? They could tell when the other had a paper cut - as the other also got one in the same place or at least felt the phantom pain of it.

Sure, he'd been distracted by his problems and his own feelings, but he'd been in slumps before, and there had been times where Shu's problems and insecurities are what actually snapped him out of his own so that he could help her instead.

He stood from the table in a huff and stomped over to Shu's room, but before he could storm in and demand answers, he heard her speaking in an unfamiliar language.

"OLANI NENNI OVCHO OLLOR MICALZ MOLVI OE GASSAGEN BAB. NOSTOAH OI OIAD SAANIR OIAD NONCP. NOSTOAH OI OIAD GASSAGEN VNIG OL OIAD NOASMI OL Heaven. OIAD GEMEGANZA IPAMIS NOASMI CORDZIZ OL NOASMI." ( **Made with a very sketchy translator because Enochian is hard. Translation is the first line up at the top of the chapter** ).

There was a pause as he realized she was speaking to someone on the phone, and Magnus went to work trying to cast a translation spell. After the first few attempts, realizing that the language was older and much harder to translate than normal modern languages, he finally got one that translated the language.

"-a little issue…"

" _With…?_ "

"We predict that it's wings."

" _Oh, good. I thought you were pregnant. Wait, wings? And you didn't think to tell me this sooner?_ "

"I told you about the whole Raziel thing affecting me and making me more angelic. This is a recent development, and you were tied up worrying about your boyfriend."

" _How far are you into the process?_ "

"You mean how painful is it to grow an extra set of limbs? Pretty. I've got lines on my back and major growing pains. I can barely move at this point."

" _Is your brother…Mag-something, that you were bonded to - how's he doing?_ "

"It's Magnus, and he's fine. I weakened our connection so that he can't feel it. He's got enough on his plate to deal with without having to worry about me."

" _You'd think he'd be able to notice something like that. I mean, the way you described your bond, I'd assume that he'd be so used to it that he'd notice if it was missing._ "

"Like I said, he's tied up right now. Anyway-"

Magnus couldn't help but be filled with rage. Shu had been weakening their connection without telling him? If he was hearing this right, this had been going on for a while now, and it might've been the reason Shu had been avoiding Magnus, but he couldn't find a reason why she'd do such a thing. If anything, a distraction from his problems for hers would've been welcome, instead of leaving him to wallow in his misery alone for all this time.

Magnus wouldn't be as angry as he was if Shu and he hadn't been together and bonded for centuries now, countless years of always being there for each other. They'd had the soul bond for basically all of their time knowing each other, and being so close to Shu, being completely trusting of her for so many years, he'd thought that she trusted him more than this.

" _I understand. I'll call you once I've found him and meet you at your apartment._ "

"Right. Good luck."

" _Bye._ "

The moment Shu hung up, Magnus burst into the room. "Why?!"

Charon - remember, a Greater Demon - was startled by the Warlock's outburst, and took a step back.

"Why would you hide this from me?! Why would you just throw my feelings aside like this?!"

"I'll just…go," Charon said quickly, before disappearing into his cloud of smoke.

"Magnus-" Shu began.

"No! You and I have _always_ been there for each other, for _all_ these years, and when you _know_ that I need you, here you are just hiding away from me and leaving me to deal with this on my own!"

"I didn't want to burden you with my problems."

"What makes you think that I'd be _burdened?!_ After so many centuries together, you should know that I don't care what crap you bring to my life! You're my sister! You're my _soul bonded_ sister! Crap is a part of our relationship that I expect! That I'm _used to!_ You've been the biggest pain in the ass I've ever had to deal with, and I've been stuck with you since I was 15! But even after all these years - _especially_ after all these years - I trust you more than I trust _anyone!_ We've had our weak moments, our bad days, and we've seen the absolute _worst_ sides of each other, yet you're still the best person I know. After everything…I don't understand why you'd keep this from me, distance yourself. We've been through all the stupid trials of not trusting each other, trying to keep each other from unnecessary pain, and we've already learned that we need to have complete transparency between us. So just… _why?!_ "

"I…I didn't wish to give you my pain. I…I am compelled to protect you, Magnus, and if that means distancing myself, so be it. There was no need for me to give you my problems to deal with on top of yours."

He scoffed. "Why would you ever…?"

But he cut himself off as he looked down in realization.

"It's the angel thing, isn't it? You're losing…a part of you. You're becoming more of an angel, and you're losing the demonic part of you - the part of you that connects you to _me_. You're losing the emotional side of you and merely focusing on facts, the logical choice over the emotional ones - no longer affected by the emotional bonds that we made over the years."

She looked to the side in thought. "I-I…I don't…I…I _suppose_ …"

He gritted his teeth in anger, his fists clenched at his sides. He was losing Alec, and now he was losing his sister, and there was _nothing_ he could do about it but hope that someone else would solve the situation.

He stomped out of her room, heading back to his own, waving his hand and blindly tossing something into the wall and smashing it. He'd be able to fix the damage later anyway. The beauty of being a Warlock was that he could smash _anything_ he wanted in his rage without doing permanent damage (except maybe some ingredients for potions could do some bad damage, but he could do more destruction than the average person, at the very least).

And when he slammed the door closed, he went to work, swiping the glasses and drinks he had lined up on the desk into the wall, smashing them all and sending, among other things, liquor flying. He then slammed his fists down on the empty table, feeling just the slightest bit of satisfaction from the solid hit and the slight sting that came from it.

Magnus was tired of being useless. Everything seemed to be spiraling out of control with Shu's darker half. Just when he had realized that he didn't need to choose between the Downworld and Alec, Alec began to spiral out of his control because of her actions. Just as Shu began to gain control of herself and her dark half, she goes off the rails in the other direction instead, and now that dark half of her was free - a package deal.

What was he supposed to do?

Well, that answer was simple yet complicated.

He needed to find a way to take out the Demon Queen.

* * *

"So, uh…we clear?" Charon asked, peeking his head out from the bathroom where he'd teleported in.

"Sort of," Shu admitted. "I think Magnus hates me now, and things just got worse."

"Why _did_ you keep this from him, anyway? I mean, I don't know him as well as you do, but considering how close you two are, I didn't think you two were ones to keep secrets for the other's protection."

"We never really have been that way, not for ages. He gave a theory that because I was losing my demonic side, I was losing my emotional connections, being more logical, and losing the part of me that connects us."

"Well, he could be right."

"Perhaps we should ask Ren about it. He _is_ an angel. How'd that go?"

"Kan found him on a hotel balcony and they're arguing, last I heard."

"Arguing? About what?"

"Apparently Ren knew the angel that kidnapped him and was all angry about it, and then Kan was trying to defend the guy, and Ren got angry, something about wanting safety, and then I ditched."

"Have they left to come here yet?"

He looked to the side for a moment. "Uh…well, apparently they're not on the balcony anymore. Just poofed away."

Shu walked out to the living room and saw that Kandai was putting a washcloth on Ren's head while he laid on the couch. Judging by the smashed tea set, she assumed Magnus had passed by but didn't notice them.

"Hey. He okay?"

Kandai sighed. "Not used to all of the angel traveling, but he'll recover."

"I heard you had a fight."

"It was stupid. I didn't want to fight, I didn't want to aggravate him. I should've just kept my mouth shut. Anyway, how are _you_ doing?"

"Sore as hell. Not to mention Magnus found out what I was doing and was _not_ happy about it."

"That explains why he stormed through here so angrily."

"Yeah. He gave some theory that I might be losing my emotional connections because I'm becoming more angelic and less demonic."

Kandai put a hand to his chin in thought. "You know, Ren _did_ say something a while back about that. He theorized that angels have less of a soul, they're born to follow orders and don't let emotions move them. Humans, they're that middle ground where they can swing either way with the right upbringing. And demons, he said, have _too much_ of a soul, understand all of the bad things in life override the good, and so that's why they act the way they do."

"That makes sense, I suppose."

"But if you and Namir split into two parts, demonic and angelic, then where did the human in you go?" Charon asked.

"I guess it split between us. The human aspects were already overpowered by the rest of me, but now that it's been split apart in two, it must barely be present."

"How long have you and Namir been split into two different personalities?" Kan asked.

"As far as I'm aware, ever since I first went off the rails as the Demon Queen. Back when I tried to abstain from _all_ of this."

"The first time?"

She walked over to one of the seats and sat down - if a bit painfully. "I had a few phases of my life. Back after the demons took me and I escaped to the human world with Charon's help, I went through a phase where I hated demons, Asmodeus in particular, but mostly just all of them that had ever tortured me. I went to the angels for help in vanquishing them, and they figured that if I was on their side, that was safer than having me against them. So I agreed to work with them, but they were too heartless in their ways, giving me orders and giving me no room for negotiation. Not all of them liked or trusted me, and I was treated like a black sheep. Everyone hated me - _feared_ me. But in my determination to destroy the demons, and the provocation of the angels' bias, I ended up forcefully taking over Heaven. But I hated the angels, and I realized that there was no way to get what I wanted, to ever be happy with them.

"So I abandoned them and went to the demons myself. And I took down any of them that I crossed paths with. At least, until one of them bowed to me. He begged that I spare him in return for serving me. He _wanted_ me to command him. And I did. And more joined. Soon, I had taken over the demon population, heading back to Edom to become the Demon Queen. By that time, however, my initial drive to kill Asmodeus didn't matter. Killing him wouldn't mean anything to me, wouldn't give me any satisfaction anymore. And _he_ bowed to me with his free will easily. So I ruled Edom for a while, being exactly what he wanted me to be. But I wasn't happy with them, either. I was bored. I was tired of it. The angels would never fully accept me, the demons tried too hard to accept me, and neither group gave me any peace.

"And so I left them, too. I went to the human world and tried to abandon it all. And it did it for a while. I managed to keep out of things as best I could. But eventually, I found there was no real way to leave it all. Both the angels and the demons were trying to gain my affection, hopefully take me back to their side, but I wanted none of it. At least, until I met and was bonded to Magnus. Then, I had no choice but to get dragged back in, support my brother and learn to watch over him. I became less of a warrior and more of just a girl with powers. I learned to act more friendly, I learned to look after my brother, how to be a sister. For once, I actually learned how to live a real life. I learned what it meant to fit in, not be above anyone or below, not be the center of attention.

"And where was Charon in all this?"

"He popped in from time to time, but it was hard for us to stay in contact. I did try, though. I always enjoyed it when he came to see me, when I actually got the chance to just hang out with him and him alone. He helped me build back my life after I'd fallen apart. Of course, there were some rocky moments, and we lost contact for a while."

"What kind of complications?"

"He was wearing your face, for one, and when I found out, I guess I felt hurt that he had to use the face of someone I trusted in order to gain mine. I found out that he was working for Asmodeus as a kind of guard that watches over my actions and pushes and pulls me in the direction he's ordered to."

"So, then, why…?"

"Why are we together again?"

She shrugged.

"The position he's in isn't his fault. If he plays his cards right, he won't have to do much that would offend me. Besides, he tells me when Asmodeus gives him orders to convince me of something, let's me make the decision on my own, but Asmodeus hasn't given him many orders lately. At the absolute worst, he was ordered to give me my memories that he took from me. Sure, I won't be able to tell if he's lying, or if he's taken any other memories, for that matter, but I know that. I know what could happen, I know what it'd be like if he betrayed me, and I've been through that. He can do all that for all I care. When I find out, I'll murder him ruthlessly, but until then, we can get along like friends."

"A mutual agreement?" Kan asked, smiling.

"Basically. I mean, I could get Charon in trouble at any moment as well, but I have no reason to."

Kan gave a small chuckle, looking to Ren for a moment before his smile began to fade. "A mutual agreement was the only way that the two of us had enough trust in each other to live together. Although Ren _did_ force me to sleep on his couch for a while when we first met."

"Do you think he's angry at you?"

He shrugged. "I suppose. I didn't mean to make him angry."

"What exactly happened?"

"I heard about his…former acquaintance, Ithuriel, coming to say that he could get Ren back into Heaven. Of course I love having him with me, and I don't want him to go back to Heaven, but…after everything that he's been through…the prospect of him actually getting a home, not have to worry about being on the run or being taken by the demons or even your darker half…I just want him to be happy, but more than happy, _safe_."

"And him?"

"I _know_ that he would disagree with me, that he'd sacrifice any amount of safety for something that he cares for, I just…I didn't expect him to be _that_ passionate about staying in this life, staying away from Heaven and with…me."

"Is that really such a surprise? I thought you two were like the power-couple of the millennia."

"I have little idea of the definition of a 'power-couple,' but we _were_ the kind of people that were going to last forever, quite literally. We rarely ever argue, and when we did, it wasn't ever relationship-breaking, and we both hated those moments we refused to talk to each other, regretting what we'd said and wishing everything could be taken back. We didn't have anything but each other, and we couldn't afford to lose that too. Our relationship is more than just love. It's reliance upon each other, a kind of feeling that we need to have the other in our lives because we know everything is ephemeral. With such long lives, knowing you're gonna be able to share it with someone feels good."

"And staying with them feels pretty good too," Ren choked out.

They all looked over in surprise to see him sitting up slowly to rest against a pillow on the couch.

"What's the point of living my life without the _one_ person that makes my life worth living? I just…I don't understand your argument here."

"I don't have an argument," Kan said, shaking his head. "I don't want to argue."

"I know you have good intentions, but never _ever_ think that I'm going to just leave you behind for _anything_. I don't care if I'm being held at gunpoint. You should know that I'm completely loyal to you. I honestly expected you to be the same."

"I am. Or I was, most likely, before we went through millennia of pure torture."

"I'm sorry-"

"It's not your fault, Shu. Namir _is_ you, sure, but this was always in your blood, and when this first happened, you were still testing things out, trying to find out who you were and where your loyalties were. You understood that things weren't as you wanted, you have your morality now. And we're here. Safe, for now."

"Still. Why would she do this to you? Even the dark half of me loves and appreciates you. You taught us a lot, looked after us. That kind of kindness isn't something she would overlook. It's not a matter of good vs. evil, but rather respect. She is the worst kind of darkness out there, but that also means that she honors bargains, debts, and has things she appreciates. Some say the evilest people have no soul, but I believe-"

"That the evilest people have too much of a soul?" Ren finished.

She looked to him in surprise. "Yeah. They know too much, and they cause chaos for little other reason than just to cause chaos. There's no dramatic back-story that makes them want to be redeemed or try and make people see things their way. It's just their understanding of the futility of…everything, really, that makes them say 'Screw the rules' and cause havoc. And, they're also the smartest about it, since they know so much about the ways of society and the soul. What's the saying? You have to understand a heart in order to break it."

"I like you already."

He shifted uncomfortably, but then winced and laid still, staring at the ceiling.

"Where are we?"

"My apartment," Shu answered. "You're safe here. I've got heavy wards, as well as some symbols that will keep the angels and the demons from finding us or getting in the building. I did my research, trust me."

"I can tell. I can feel the wards for angels right now. Not only are my kinsmen unable to enter, but I am unable to leave."

"Just give the word and I can let you go. I can drop the warding at very quick intervals, so that we don't draw attention every time they go down. I dropped them for a while so that Kan could get in, but I set them to automatically respond to you two and you two alone. Well, also Charon."

"Hello," Charon said, holding his hand up and wiggling his fingers in a cocky fashion.

Ren turned and looked to Charon for the first time, before suddenly jumping up and pressing himself against the couch in a panic, as though trying to back up and become one with the thing.

"What is _he_ doing here?!"

"Whoa, easy, Ren," Kan said, moving to grab him gently. "That's Charon. He's a friendly demon."

"Valak, what game are you playing?!"

Charon looked around, confused. "Sorry, how does he know my name? Have we met before? No…I'd remember _you_. You smell all…alchemic."

Ren chuckled humorlessly. "I should think you'd remember, considering _you_ got me cast out of Heaven!"

"What?!" Shu and Kandai demanded.

Charon held his hands up in defense. "Hey! Whoa! I don't know the guy! I've never even _been_ to Heaven! I don't know the first thing about him, let alone how you get an angel cast out!"

"Wait, his name is Valak?" Kan asked. "What happened to Charon? They sound _nothing_ alike."

"It's my last name," Charon deadpanned.

" _That's_ what you got out of that revelation?" Ren asked.

Kan shrugged. "Yeah, basically. Susu says he's not a threat, and she can take him out whenever she wants, so I feel safe. Besides, the guy is clearly suffering from memory loss at the moment."

"Ahem," Charon interrupted. " _I_ am a memory demon. A _Greater_ Demon. One does not simply _tamper_ with my memories."

"What about someone higher up than you?" Shu suggested. "Maybe, to keep the whole operation with me a secret, your memories were taken by someone above you."

He looked down in thought. "Well…I suppose that's possible," He admitted.

"Ugh, this is insane!" Ren shouted, holding his hands to his temples like he had a bag headache. "First Ithuriel, then Kan, then _this!_ And let's not forget about Raziel's _stupid_ decision to make Nephilim!"

"What's wrong with them?" Shu asked.

"Nephilim are the most dangerous creatures I know of! Even just _one_ of them could destroy the universe! But, _apparently_ , Razz made some artificial ones that are more _stable_. Utter BS! Why would he even _try_ such a thing?!"

"Wait, _destroy the universe?_ " Kan repeated.

"Yes! The last Nephilim to be born was terrifying! Look, I'm all for experimentation to take things that would otherwise be deadly and utilizing them to be on our side, but Nephilim are a line even _I_ wouldn't cross!"

"Perhaps they were desperate," Shu said. "The Nephilim that I first encountered easily took out the horde of demons guarding the palace and the dungeon where I was being kept, but then again, the demons _wanted_ them to come into contact with me. After that, I wiped out those Nephilim since one put a sword in my gut."

"Those must've been just the betas, the preliminary tests to see if there was anything to improve. He probably didn't _expect_ them to come back alive. To that end, I can presume that they had a bit of a wrath problem and were sent there to raise hell."

"The one that I met certainly seemed robotic."

"Too much angel in them. Considering the human aspect is one of the things that makes a Nephilim so dangerous, he must've tried leaning things too far to the angelic side. Then he must've done the opposite, leaning it more to the human side. Today you see the results."

"So they're less _half_ angel and more 25% angel," Charon summarized. "Seems reasonable. They weren't very angelic to me."

"Alexander's not that bad," Shu admitted.

"He broke your brother's heart, like, five times over."

"Not on purpose, and they always make up."

"How about you go and help them now?"

"We get Jace back, and they _will_ make up. Might take some time, shoving, and emotional speeches, but they always come back together."

"For now, all our problems lie within Namir," Kandai said. "How do we stop her?"

"The only person who stands a chance at it is obviously me," Shu said. "However, the two of us are completely and equally matched. Neither one of us will be able to overpower the other. It's a stand-off. The two of us can beat anyone who gets in our way, and the only ones that we _can't_ kill are each other. That's what makes her such a problem."

"Can all of us working together overpower her? Maybe some Shadowhunters too? If we have the numbers, can quantity beat quality?"

"The whole point is that she won't let a situation like that come to pass. She's got access to Edom's worst, and possibly more. She's basically got all of Hell under her command. There's no way we'd be able to amass an army larger than hers, let alone have enough survive an encounter to overpower her."

"What if you put her back inside you?" Ren asked. "If we know the process that split you, there has to be a way to figure out a process to put you back together."

"She _wanted_ to put us back together previously, but it seemed that Raziel prevented that from happening, as evidence by my angelic side effects. Quite possibly, his summoning was an opportunity in his opinion. He hasn't been summoned in centuries, and maybe he was waiting for someone to summon him so that he could sever my final connections with her. An overload of angelic energy split the bond this time, and the time before, I assume that my need to get away from all of this and Namir's desire to _stay_ is what separated us as much as it did before."

"In that case, the only way for you two to come back together is for you two to completely and totally agree on your ideals."

"Which is the whole point - we can't. We are _meant_ to be each other's opposites."

"But that doesn't mean that all that you _do_ is completely opposite. Things aren't always black and white, especially when it comes to angels and demons. In most cases, I would suggest a common threat to bring you together. In the end, survival and self preservation is the most basic and overriding instinct that both of you will have."

"And she'll know all of this. Everything I figure out is something she figures out."

"So there's no cheating when it comes to this situation, but - wait, hold on a sec. Go back to what you said sixty seven seconds ago."

"67?" Kan asked.

"Give or take."

She looked down in thought for a moment. "I said she _wanted_ to put us back together previously."

"Well that solves the problem right there."

"She seemed pretty confident that she would be more powerful than me, that even if we came together she'd have nothing to worry about, but in the end, there's really no way to tell. The two of us becoming one means that there's no winning or overpowering involved. Our ideals are opposing, but that's just me seeing and wanting both sides of an argument. It'd be really easy for the me that has both of us inside her to mess around with you, little pranks or comments that would aggravate you, but nothing too offending or harsh. In the end, we're still family and acquaintances."

"Why would she even _want_ to put you two back together?" Kandai asked. "Isn't the whole point that the evil in her wants to be free to do as she wishes without a conscious or good morals to stand in her way?"

"She's not at her strongest without me. It's like a soul bond - stronger because we _are_ one soul that's been split. We don't feel complete without each other, being separate like this. Not only is this about her gaining my power to add to hers, but it's about needing to be whole again, a natural and basic reaction to being apart."

"Great," Charon said. "So, we get you two in a room and have you work out your issues to come together and boom! We're golden."

"More or less," Shu sighed. "But there are always risks. I don't know what it's like to be completely bonded with her into one person. She's been gone from me for so many years without my knowledge, and it gave me a kind of peace. Even if I'll change, I don't know how much. Will I really be good? If she _wants_ us to come together, I worry that she knows something that I don't, a pain that being merged with her is going to give me."

"Well, we don't have a lot of options here."

"I know. The issue now remains whether she's going to play ball or is going to make this hard on us."

The conversation was interrupted as they heard the ringing of a phone. It sounded far away, and they all looked around to identify if it was in the room and just muffled.

"That's mine," Shu realized.

She went back into her room and picked up the phone, seeing that it was Alec. He was wrapped up in the search for Jace, and hadn't called in weeks. He'd only call if he had a lead, or if there was an emergency that required Warlock expertise - and it was unlikely he was going to call Magnus after their fight.

"Hello? Alexander? What's up?"

" _We found him._ "


	10. You're The Angel

**Okay, long chapter, sorry, I've been away for so long on like five other stories, and this is tons of filler. I have plans in the future for this story, I swear, but things kinda went off the rails, but now I have found a way to segue back to the plot I have intended. Again, sorry for the length.**

 **Enjoy~!**

 **:)**

* * *

"Who? Jace?"

She had to admit that her question was redundant. There wasn't anyone else that Alec would be calling about, let alone so frantically.

" _Yeah. He's in bad condition, but he's alive. We need you to come over and help. See if he has any lasting effects from being captured._ "

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few."

" _Thanks._ "

Alec hung up abruptly. Shu walked back into the living room and reported the situation.

"Who's Jace?" Ren asked.

"Her brother's boyfriend's brother."

"What?"

"An important dude," Charon summed up. "We figured out that he was taken, most likely, by Namir to mess with Shu."

"And if she's let him get found, there has to be a reason."

"Like when she let me go?" Ren asked.

"Yes."

"Or, she's doing this out of the goodness of her heart," Kan muttered. "I mean, she's wanting to merge with Shu again. Maybe these are peace offerings."

"She took Ren a long time ago, but she took Jace just recently. I take that to mean she had a _reason_ for taking Jace, and now she's either done with him, or she's rigged him."

"Like, with a bomb or something?"

"Or a spell, or a virus. Only one way to find out. I'm being called in to check him out now."

She walked over and reached to grab her jacket from the arm of the couch, but winced at the act of leaning down, even just slightly.

"Are you sure you're in any condition?" Charon asked worriedly.

Ren was staring at Charon with a suspicious death glare, but only Kan noticed.

"I'll be fine."

"What's wrong?" Kan asked.

"Oh, right, we haven't told you. I'm becoming more angelic, so I'm growing wings, apparently."

"Wings? Why didn't this come up before?"

"You were dealing with Ren. We figured that the sooner he gets up, the sooner he can help me with this."

" _I_ could help too!"

"Not as much as I could," Ren admitted.

"Hey! You're supposed to me on _my_ side! Besides, you've explained the whole wing thing to me, and I think I know enough to be of service."

Ren moved to sit up straighter, although he did grunt with slight discomfort. "Okay, how long has this been happening?"

"Ever since my contact and possession with Raziel. Granted, that was just when my angelic transformation had begun. I'm not sure when the wings themselves had begun to form."

"How much pain are you in?"

"My entire torso is numb. It hurts whenever I move it, try and flex my posture in any way."

"You're pretty far in. You should be getting rest. Without the aura of Heaven to support your wings' growth, I recommend keeping your power concentrated. You need to build it so that your wings can be properly made. If you don't have enough energy to create them, they're either going to come out deformed, or they're going to start eating away at your life force to try and build themselves, like parasites."

"So doing some mumbo-jumbo on a guy to heal him isn't recommended?" Kandai summed up.

Ren nodded. "I'll go. I feel I've had plenty of rest to recover my powers, and my body's gotten used to the teleportation. Not the mention I think I'm more welcome than a pair of demons."

"That's racist," Charon said.

Ren gave a face. "I don't know what that means."

"Blame the Shadowhunters for being that way," Shu said. "I mean, there _are_ exceptions here and there, but they train their people to believe they're better than anyone with demon blood. People like my brother - Warlocks - Vampires, Werewolves, and Seelies. All of them have demon blood in them in some messed up way or another. And they're all looked down for it, even if they're not bad people. Once, these people - Downworlders - were hunted for sport by the Shadowhunters. I managed to make the Accords, a way to at least _try_ and get the Shadowhunters to accept them. But the Shadowhunters act as though their angel blood entitles them or something. They really piss me off, but there are some good apples among all the rotten."

"That's why you're helping them?"

She shrugged. "My brother _is_ kinda _dating_ one, so yeah. But they're not _all_ jerks. Some can learn, some have hearts. Some I don't like, yet best intentions may lead to trouble, but they're still best intentions. They're just sometimes idiots about it."

"Uh…cool?"

"Anyway, you can go. Charon can show you around."

Ren gave a glare. " _Him?_ "

" _Me?_ " Charon asked.

"You're the only one that's been around the Institute and knows how to handle those people, since I'm in no condition to go. You can give them memories, sure, but that won't change the fact that these two are from _beyond_ the dark ages, and the only way to learn is to gain experience. Besides, I don't trust anyone else to look after them. Well, Magnus, maybe, but considering our current options…yeah."

"You're trusting the demon who's gotten caught before to go in there _again?_ "

"I'm trusting _you_ , Chare. Besides, you'll have an angel on your side."

"And me," Kan insisted. "I'm not leaving Ren's side."

"Two demons and an angel going into the institute full of Nephilim?" Ren summarized. "Oh, this is gonna be fun, isn't it?"

"That's the spirit," Shu said.

* * *

Ren sighed as he stood outside the building where the Nephilim were, the building that he'd been trying desperately to escape hours earlier. Sure, these were apparently Raziel-approved Nephilim, but Razz was never the alchemist Ren was, and Ren couldn't help but worry that his creations had dangerous flaws that Raziel neglected to address. Ren was one of those scientists that didn't trust anyone but himself.

"Let's get this over with," Charon said, disguised as Shu.

Despite what his outer form looked like, angels had the ability to see a demon's true face no matter what, and since he could never forget Valak's face, he hated the fact that no matter what form he took, he could still see the real demon, the face he could never forget and loathed with everything he had.

Back when he was disguised as an angel in Heaven, he'd been messing with the angels' memories, making them see _him_ as an angel instead of a demon. And Ren had fallen for it. Not that he was the only one, but he was the one that took the punishment.

They walked into the Institute, and saw that the Shadowhunters were still cleaning up after Ren had destroyed all of their weapons.

"What happened _here?_ " Valak/Charon/Not-Shu asked.

"I kinda freaked out when I heard that this was an institute of Nephilim," Ren admitted. "I didn't know they were Raziel's artificial creations. So…I blew up all of their angel-powered weapons by overloading them with my angelic energy."

He (should Ren refer to him as a woman now?) chuckled. "I like you're style. You got spark, kid, I'll give ya that."

Ren gave a glare. "Don't call me 'kid.'"

Charon raised an eyebrow. "Okay, okay. Let's just look for Alec. He's the head of the Institute, and Magnus's boyfriend."

"At least we have the head guy on our side," Kan muttered. "He _is_ on our side, right?"

"Shu likes him. I'd say he's pretty good."

He turned over to a passing Shadowhunter.

"Oh, hey! Where's Alec Lightwood? I've convinced the angel to talk to him."

"T-The angel?" The guy stuttered, getting the room's attention.

Ren saw all eyes on him in an instant. For a long time, he'd only been in contact with Kan and maybe Namir, and before that, just Kan and BB. It had been far too long since he'd been in contact with more than two people - more than just Kan and one or two other sentient beings, anyway. He was a shy guy without much contact in Heaven, too, so even _then_ he wasn't used to crowds.

"Sorry for breaking your…room," Ren muttered. "I can fix it, though."

He waved his hand across the room, the shards of the weapons, broken screens, and a bit of rubble from the walls all began to move, floating back to where they came from and reforming the things that they'd broken from. The Shadowhunters looked around in awe as the entire room was restored, the weapons all returned to their racks - some on the floor where people had been standing and holding them - and the screens flickering on again.

"Is there anyone injured because of me?" He asked.

"T-There were a couple people that were holding swords when they blew up," A woman answered. "But they're all healed up now."

"Good. Now, uh, where's this head?"

"U-Uh, that way," Another man said, pointing down a hallway. "He's in his office."

"I know the way to that," Not-Shu said.

He (She?) (They?) led Ren and Kan off down the hall. They let Charon/Not-Shu guide them down the winding corridors, and Ren looked around, trying to map out the route they were taking in case they needed to make a run for it.

Not-Shu knocked on the door. "Alec? We're here."

There was no response, and she checked the door handle to find it unlocked. When she pushed open the door, she looked around in the room for a moment, before freezing and shoving the door fully open wide.

"Alec."

Ren and Kan peeked into the room to see that Alec was on the floor in the middle of the room, knocked unconscious.

Not-Shu kneeled down and put her hand just above his head. "He's still alive. It doesn't seem like he's got any injuries or viruses left in him."

Ren kneeled down and put his index and middle fingers to Alec's forehead. With a small jolt, Alec's eyes snapped open and he gasped, taking a deep breath before coughing and pushing himself into a sitting position against the desk.

"You are fully healed by both my standards as well as Charon's," Ren reported. "You're not in any immediate danger. Calm your breathing. The haste of your awakening is what is causing your coughing. Were you dreaming of something disturbing?"

Alec eyed Ren. "This is the angel?"

"What gave it away?" Kan asked.

"He's in all white."

Ren looked down at his clothes. "We _do_ seem to have a limited spectrum, don't we?"

"But anyone can wear an all white outfit," Kan pointed out.

"Can anyone have completely white hair?" Alec countered.

"I like it. Admittedly, humans don't often have that hair, though. Even if they dye their hair correctly, it's not this perfect, and wigs don't look like genuine hair. Ren's hair is special."

Ren rubbed his hand through his hair, self-consciously, remembering that it wasn't just him and Kan in the room. "Thanks," He muttered, trying to hide his smile.

"All right, enough you lovebirds," Not-Shu muttered. "What happened to you, anyway?"

Alec shook his head. "I'm not sure. One moment I'm just going over some files about Jace and his condition and the next I'm knocked out."

He pointed to the tablet on the desk, and Kan grabbed it. He couldn't read the mundane language, nor the Shadowhunter one if they were different, so he passed it over to Not-Shu, and he scrolled through the information.

"Looks like Jake-"

"Jace," Alec corrected.

"Whatever. Looks like he was starved; lost a lot of nutrients. Not to mention he seemed to have had many weird injuries. His skin was discolored in patches, and not in the bruised way - although he had plenty of those too. And…there was a single cut on his arm that seemed to have been deeply scarred, even though it hadn't been there before he was captured. It can take years for a scar like that to heal to where it is now. But he's been gone less than two _months_."

"Yeah, that was odd. But so far, there hasn't been anything the sensors can find that's wrong with him. Maybe he could've just used his healing runes, but normally, when a wound is that severe, the Silent Brothers have to heal it - or he has to have a _lot_ of rune power in the reserves."

"Let's go pay a visit to this…Jay," Kan said.

"Jace," Alec sighed.

"I like you," Not-Shu said. "And you're quite easy on the eyes there."

"Hey," Ren interrupted, stepping between them.

Not-Shu took a step back and held her arms up in surrender, though they didn't seem too apologetic or guilty. "Sorry, man. Just a compliment. And if it makes you feel any better, you're cute too."

She ruffled his hair before nodding to Alec to lead them away, out to the hall and down the infirmary room that Jace was being held in.

Ren had his murder-face on, and Kan slipped his hand into his. "Come on, Ren. He doesn't mean harm. He doesn't even _know_ you."

"Don't defend him after what he did. What is it with you and defending everyone that's ever hurt me these days?"

The demon sighed. "Maybe I just don't wanna see you upset. Rage doesn't look good on you, angel. It's been a long time, and I'd hoped that you'd left all this behind. Being mad won't make you feel any better; it'll only sabotage your own happiness and…well, and mine, for no reason. We finally have the chance to relax just a little bit after centuries. Let's not ruin it with arguments, okay? Please."

Kan gently rubbed his hand across Ren's forearm soothingly, and Ren couldn't help but relax. "All right. I'm sorry."

Kan gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Don't worry about it. Now, let's go see that…guy."

Ren chuckled. "This better not become a thing between you two."

"Can't we all just be friends?"

"Not instantly like that. It's just creepy for me."

"I understand. Just tell me if something's bothering you, and let me be there to help."

"Thanks, Kan."

* * *

"There _is_ … _something,_ " Ren reported. "Something attached to his soul."

"His soul?" Alec asked.

"Yes. Consider it like a bond - similar to Shu and Magnus's. However, it seems to be less consensual. It was given to him without his knowledge, and he seems to have no control over it."

"Well, who was he bonded _to?_ "

"That's…hard to tell. They're very far away right now, and it seems like Jace has drawn the short end of the stick. I'm unable to track anything from his side of the bond. Were it the other way around, it would be easy, however he seems to be on the receiving end, as though someone has wired him to be tracked, but prevented him from reversing the effect to find his handler."

"If Namir let him go, I wouldn't call that a surprising development," Charon pointed out, now returned to his original form.

Ren found it unsettling that his current face was very close to Kan's. Even though he had a different outer face, Ren's ability to see his true face still made it hard to look at him either way. Even if he tried to focus on his outer face instead of his true one, his snarky facial expressions and tone hadn't changed from back when Charon had tricked him.

"It's not like she doesn't already know the location of the Institute," Charon continued. "Most likely, it means that she's looking to gain information that Jace learns, and prevent him from turning it back on her."

"Can we do anything about it?" Alec asked.

"You can quarantine him, limit the amount of information he's exposed to. This will be like a parasite - it will subtly influence him without his own knowledge."

"Parasite?"

"Yes. Ever heard of cordyceps? They are fungi that infect certain species of bugs if their population gets too out of hand. The way that they spread is they take control of one of the bugs they've infected and basically take control of their brains. They force them to go somewhere that's ideal for spreading the cordyceps to places where they can infect others of the species they're targeting. It's actually a pretty interesting system."

"What would you know about science like that?" Ren muttered with a hint of bitterness.

"I'll have you know that this memory demon has hobbies. I'm the scientist of the demons as well as a memory demon. Duh. I study human psychology based on memories offered and stolen to help the demons understand the humans to better persuade them into things. If I know anything about demons - and I'm pretty sure I'm the expert here - then I know that she's doing this for more than just information. She's making sure that we know what she's done so that we create tension with Jared-"

"Jace," Alec corrected again.

"-and make you all feel bad for what you're doing. She's going to try and keep things quiet so that he gets ticked off that you're treating him like a prisoner for no reason, and then you're going to be guilty-shamed into letting him free - it's going to be Clary doing the freeing, by the way, and she's going to do it behind everyone else's back. Let's be honest, that wasn't very hard to figure out. Then, once he's free, she'll make a move to either kill or hold Clary hostage, or use Jace in some way to bring down the Institute. See? Very predictable. Now you're all going to try and take measures to prevent that from happening, but you know that leaving him free is going to risk too much, and so you're going to exile him from the Institute instead, prevent him from coming into contact with any Shadowhunters until we've stopped Namir. But Clary's going to insist on staying with him and be exiled with him, and then they're going to inevitably do something stupid together. Then, something bad's gonna happen while they're gone, and then the two of them will be forced to return, and then they'll be devastated by the scene of an attack, and she'll enjoy the looks on their faces at them seeing the deaths and destruction of all their friends and family and the Institute."

They all stared at him, and he shrugged.

"What? Shadowhunters are predictable. Especially with you lot."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Alec asked. "If Charon can figure out all those scenarios, then there's no doubt that she's prepared for each eventually as well."

"There are two main choices," Kan said. "Keep him here or make him leave. You choose to keep him here, you have to decide whether to let him roam free like he usually would, or limit him to a certain extent, and he won't be very happy about them. If he leaves, you need to decide where he goes - kick him to the street on his own, or make him go somewhere specific to limit his movements and risk of capture or control, like send him to another Institute. Whatever you do, Jace probably isn't gonna be happy about it."

"Just like when he was accused of having demon blood," Charon said, though he looked more amused about it than anything else. "At least this time it's Alec in charge."

"You get to make the choice here," Ren said. "But, for now, your friend seems to be in fine condition. Just be careful what you say to him, and don't forget that no matter how much he says that he's okay and that he's trustworthy, remember that it's not his choice at all. And I'd watch out for his girlfriend. Their relationship and her having Ithuriel's blood calls for trouble. Put these two together and I'd assume she's going to do something stupid, and he's going to go along with it because she bats her eyes and begs."

"That girl will taser her best friend if she thinks she's doing the right thing," Charon agreed.

"Let's just see how things play out on their own," Kan said. "She should hopefully learn her lessons as they pass, and if things go wrong again, _then_ you can scold her. For now, I think our job is done."

"We can leave it to the Lightwood boy," Charon agreed. "See y'all when we see ya."

He waved his hand and he and Kan disappeared in waves of smoke. Ren was left standing there, looking back and forth in the room and to Alec in confusion.

Charon reappeared a moment later with a groan. "Ugh, you and your angel-ness prevent me from teleporting you!"

Kan appeared out of nowhere, no cloud of smoke or anything, falling to the floor with a shout of surprise. "Aw man…still working on that whole teleporting thing."

Shu then appeared from a portal. "You people are so lazy. Just come through the damn portal."

She walked back through, and Charon waved and popped through as well. Ren pulled Kan to his feet as he chuckled in embarrassment, before they walked through as well, the portal closing behind them.

* * *

"Okay, so how is this supposed to work?" Shu asked.

"I'll just help you pull them out," Ren explained. "It's gonna be a bit painful. I recommend doing this in a spring, so that water can help you soak away at the skin and make it easier to tear, as well as help the cleanup of all the icky stuff."

"Icky stuff? Aren't your true forms, like, just balls of light?"

"My brother Cass once described it as a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent, and Lucy just calls us balls of _heavenly_ light, but yeah. However, you were born with a body, correct? As such, once you die, you'll become like the rest of us, but you're lucky enough to have your own body, able to go wherever you want without possessing someone or killing all humans within the area - average radius would be about the whole city of New York for even one of the lesser angels."

"What about you? You seem to have a body, right?"

"It's just…alchemy. I study lots of stuff, and humans were always fascinating. I was able to condense my form and make it less deadly, but I have no vessel containing me, should I lose control, or if I'm killed."

"You can get killed?"

"By one of my own kind or of someone above. Demons haven't yet figured out a way to effectively kill us, at least to our knowledge, and that's because we keep away from Earth, leaving little room for anyone to study us enough. Of course, apparently Valak figured us out enough to trick me."

Shu looked back to Ren. Kan had explained the story of Ren, and honestly, her relationship with Charon had a lot of complications, but he wasn't such a bad guy. He was just doing what he was told, and sadly, she had to admit that if Charon hadn't done what he did, she probably wouldn't be who she was today. Heck, would she have even been born/created?"

"Charon's eccentric, but he's a good guy."

Ren looked down. "I don't know. I haven't seen him in a long time, and maybe he's changed, but…"

"But he's still an arrogant prick?"

"Maybe a little."

Shu chuckled. "He's not always like that. I think he's just like that because of you and Kan making everything new for him. I think he's worried that Kan's going to take all of my attention, and that you're going to cause me to have mistrust in him that he can't understand. Whether he realizes it or not, he sees you two as a threat to his happiness and our relationship. It sounds self-centered, but it's a natural reaction."

"And so he acts like a flirt to us?"

"Did he?"

"A little."

"You get used to it. It's merely a façade to hide his true feelings. Those who come off confident are commonly the most insecure."

Shu walked over and turned on the hot water to fill the bathtub.

Ren walked over in interest, putting his hand under the stream and flinching - not from the heat of the water burning him, but from the surprise that it was warm. "How is this mystic spring controlled and within this building?"

She chuckled. "It's complicated. You see, water has been gathered in reservoirs and is sent through pipes underground to houses like this, and with a little electricity - harnessed lightning, don't ask - we can harness heat and mix them together. In any case, we've created artificial springs, basically. I turn up the heat to maximum because I tend to spend a lot of time in here, the heat can't burn me, and I quite enjoy the warmth. Now, turn away."

"Why?"

"I am a woman, you are a man, and you are _not_ related to me. In this modern world, you aren't allowed to look at my body freely under these circumstances."

"If it makes you feel any better, I can switch. Since I don't have a vessel, I can manipulate my body however I want."

He held his hands out and closed his eyes, his form shifting. In a smooth transition, he transformed into a she. Shu was a little surprised to find that he shifted into a duplicate of _her_ at first, but Ren kept the same light freckles she had on her male form, and then her face shifted to become slightly thinner, so she looked more Caucasian than Asian like Shu.

When she opened her eyes, she looked down at her body. "Does it look all right?"

"It looks fine," Shu assured him - wait - _her_.

Ren went to look at herself in the mirror. She brushed some bangs out of her face and blinked. "I've had plenty of sisters, and seen plenty of human females, but having my own is body this way is foreign. Do you think Kan will like it?"

"I think he'll love it."

"But he's only ever seen one body from me."

"But you'll always be you, right? He knows that. He loves you. I can see that. He's got a big heart. Besides, it's not permanent. And your physical looks don't matter much when you're a demon and/or an angel. You don't have anything to worry about."

She sighed and mustered a smile. "Right, now, to those wings."

* * *

When the door opened, Alec almost called Kan 'Charon.'

"I hope you haven't made bad relations while wearing my face," Kan warned.

"Dude, memory demon. If I make bad relations, they never remember it."

"We decided to keep Jace's condition a secret," Alec reported. "No one but me, the two of you, and the angel will know, and I came to request that you keep it a secret as well."

"Sure." "No problem."

"I'll go tell Ren," Kan said, heading towards Shu's room.

"What about your boyfriend?" Charon asked. "Wasn't the whole secret thing bad?"

"I'm gonna tell him too. And…apologize for being a jerk," Alec admitted.

"Do be a dear and drag him out of his room. The guy hasn't come out ever since this little argument between Shu and him. Long story. Anyway, I think he needs some good news right about now. If he weren't a Warlock, I'd be worried about his health."

Alec hurried over to Magnus's room and knocked gently. "Magnus?"

When he got no response, he tried the handle and found it open. Inside, he found Magnus surrounded by books and potion ingredients, quite literally, as some were floating in the air from his magic. Closing the door behind him, he had to work to dodge his way through the circles of hovering objects.

"Magnus, what's going on?"

"What is it, Alexander?" Magnus asked passively, his eyes darting around at the books as they came by and waving his other hand to have some ingredients come together and pour into a cauldron beside him.

"We found Jace."

"Good for you," He said, though he didn't seem to be listening.

"We think Namir did something to him, but we can't be sure. Of course, the _threat_ that she did something was reasoned to be the biggest concern. We treat Jace like he's some threat, then he'll be on edge and against us, not to mention he'll be treated like the outcast again, just like with the whole demon blood thing, and we don't need that. So, we decided to keep it a secret."

"Cool."

Alec looked around at the floating objects. "So…what are you doing?"

"Looking for ways to stop my sister's demon half from destroying all our lives. You?"

"Uh…can I help in any way?"

"Not particularly."

Alec sighed. "Look, Magnus, I'm sorry for what I said."

Magnus suddenly slammed his hands down and every book and bottled ingredient went slamming down at the same time, Alec flinching as things came extremely close to hitting him, but Magnus had managed to keep him safe. Luckily, Magnus also made sure that none of the glass broke and released some of the more dangerous mixes. The Warlock breathed hard, but didn't say anything.

Finally, he bit his lip and looked up. "What's done is done. I know why you said what you did. Jace is just…closer than I am."

He waved over a vial and poured it into his cauldron.

"After all, you're parabatai, brothers, and friends since children. You were right. You'll love him more than you can love anyone else. I understand that."

"Magnus, I didn't mean that-"

"That what? That if it came down to me or him, you'd choose _me?_ You can't tell me that you don't love your brother, and you can't tell me that you'd let him die just for me, for a _Warlock_."

"This isn't about what you are!"

"No, but that's certainly a factor. If you lose your brother, you lose family. I'm not your family. And you have to put your family before yourself, before _me_."

"I chose you over the Clave, and my parents, and _yes_ , I would choose you over Jace. Haven't we been through enough to prove that yet? People will get in between us, wars, secrets, races, but we'll _always_ come back to each other, right?"

"You'd choose me in an _argument_ if you truly believed I was right, sure. But if choosing me meant Jace _died?_ No. You wouldn't be able to make that choice. You'll save him first. And I won't blame you. Just know that…I'll never blame you. I'll _understand_ , Alexander."

"Magnus that's…don't say something like that…"

"Like it or not, that day will come. And just know that I won't blame you when you chose Jace. Don't think that I would be angry at you, that I'd be selfish enough to want him to die just so that I could be with you."

"Stop it! Stop talking like that!"

Alec carefully walked around the things in the room and sat on the bed next to Magnus, taking his hand.

"Don't say stuff like that, okay?" He whispered.

Magnus looked down at their clasped hands. "I'm sorry."

"No, _I'm_ sorry. I should've kept my cool. Some leader I am."

"Jace made you the Head of the Institute for a reason. He trusted you as a natural leader, and he was just a soldier. You're a great Head. It would be scarier if you _didn't_ freak out when your brother was captured by what has to be one of the most powerful people we've faced. No one blames you."

"Well, _some_ people probably think I was being a jerk."

Magnus chuckled lightly. "They have no right to say anything about you."

"I know you'll be the first to defend me."

"Actually, Shu would probably be the first. For my sake, and for her own liking of you, she'd tear anyone who dares insult you apart on the spot."

"Glad to know I've gotten her approval."

"Please. You had her approval the first time we saw you."

"So, what _are_ you working on in here?"

"Oh, I'm looking for a way to merge a split soul. Working with Greater Demons and even angels is a little beyond my normal studies, but I'm up for the challenge if it'll save my sister. I've gathered tons of books over the years on things like this, but as time goes by, stories get more and more distorted. I've been looking into the oldest books for information on angels and demons, and if there's any way to merge them. After all, demons came _after_ the angels. The story of Lilith, one of the first demons, says that she was once human and was made demon after she was thrown out of Eden and replaced by Eve. If there's a loophole we can exploit, I'm all up for it."

"Can I help?"

"Well…you can help me look through these books for anything. I've managed to track down some old books written in Enochian, angelic language and whatnot. I've got a translation spell if you need it."

He passed over a book, and the two of them got reading like a pair of students studying for a college exam. Alec hoped that Magnus wouldn't bring up the topic of a situation involving Alec having to choose between Magnus and Jace dying, especially the part where Magnus was so willing to be the one to die. Alec wanted to say that he'd never make the choice for Magnus to die, but if the alternative was _Jace_ dying…? He hoped that he never had to face a choice like that.

He understood that Magnus was just being practical - Jace and Alec had a history, they were brothers and parabatai, bonded in more ways than one, while Magnus had only met Alec recently compared to Jace. Their relationship had so many ups and downs that it resembled a rollercoaster, and Alec wanted to just get off and have a steady and happy relationship with Magnus.

Of course, Magnus was also thinking about how others would react if Alec chose a _Downworlder_ over his own _parabatai_. The entire Shadowhunter community would be shocked and appalled. As if him _dating_ a Downworlder didn't make his life hard enough - as he knew there were plenty out there whispering behind his back about it, and it was only a matter of time before the Clave took action and made him make a choice of _some_ kind, though he doubted something as drastic as the death of Magnus or Jace - but at this point, Alec wouldn't be surprised if they went to great lengths to keep their perfect image of somehow being better than Downworlders intact. Jace was a Herondale, so the Clave would be hesitant to do anything against him without some kind of reason, but he wouldn't put it against them - well, maybe he would a _little_ \- if they were to _stage_ some kind of incident and frame him because apparently their word was law.

Of course, they were still better than Valentine, who believed in Downworlder genocide, but they weren't very far behind.

Still, Alec couldn't help but ponder things from Magnus's perspective. If it was a choice between Alec and Shu, wouldn't Magnus obviously choose his sister, who he _literally_ has _centuries'_ worth of memories and experience with, and is also _soul bonded_ to? If he thought about it that way, then he could see the resemblances to him and Jace.

Alec internally sighed.

He pushed the dark thoughts to the back of his mind. He didn't want to think about it anymore and unnecessarily cause himself misery. What good would worrying about bad futures do for him? He just hoped that the day never came when he'd have to make a choice like that, and he would forget about it for now.


End file.
